Transition School

Nadine Fabret passed away in France on 7 August 2025 at the age of 59. A valued member of the Sve Dame community and a unique spirit, she could be warmly social yet also deeply comfortable in her own company.

Lakshmanan Krishnan passed away on July 12th at JIPMER hospital after an accident, at the age of 44. He was a true Auroville youth, born and educated in Auroville.

Sathiya, a second-generation Aurovilian, speaks about her upbringing and her unwavering commitment to Auroville's ethos despite external pressures.

Rolf Lieser arrived in Auroville in 1981 and during his thirty years stay here, among other things, he practised and exhibited his paintings and sculptures, played music in various bands, did graphic design (including working with Kireet Joshi on certain projects), designed and constructed a number of houses, and started Kalabhumi community in the Cultural Zone.

Sylvia Zimmerman, who lived in Surrender, passed away in the evening of February 4th. Sylvia had come to join Auroville in 1999, after a long worldwide search and experiences in different spiritual places and communities.

On the 4th January, many people were shocked to see many Service trees (Peltophorum pterocarpum/ Copper Pod tree) being felled on the Crown between the Solar Kitchen and Mahalakshmi Home.

Aurosugan was born in Auroville. After completing an MBA in hospital administration, he worked at the Aravind Eye Hospital for many years. Recently he returned to Auroville and set up a primary eye centre here with ambitious plans to eliminate blindness in Auroville and the bioregion.

In the October 2023 issue of Auroville Today [#411] we highlighted the 901-page framework study ‘Governance in Auroville’ of Professor Raag Yadava and his associate Nidhi Harihar.

Recently, Jay Naidoo, an ex-freedom fighter from South Africa, visited Auroville and addressed an important question to the youth: “You say you are open to everyone and invite people from all over the world, but have you actually created an environment where African people can integrate into the community?”

Sriman Kota and Anupama Jagadeesh both arrived in Auroville four years ago and happened to meet some time later at STEM Land while exploring how they could best contribute their energies and skills to Auroville.

On February 14th, 2022, Axel Björnsson passed away in his home in Vilcabamba, Ecuador at the age of 59, after a long struggle due to a failed surgery.

Awareness Through the body (ATB) is one of Auroville’s truly groundbreaking programmes. For almost thirty years, Aloka, Joan and people who have since become facilitators in ATB, have helped generations of students, as well as adults, to know and manage the complexity of their own beings through simple tools rooted in sensory experience.

One Saturday morning in November 2017, a bunch of Auroville youth hanging out in the Solar Kitchen parking lot had the ‘wild idea’ to clean-up some of the ever-increasing amounts of rubbish in Auroville.

Home birth is rather common and very accessible here in Auroville, and I was one of those lucky children to evacuate my warm private cocoon straight into what would be my home for my first 19 years.

Sagarika Bhati was born and raised in Auroville. She is among the few students who chose to follow the Free Progress system of education offered in some schools in Auroville.

Written by Mona Doctor-Pingel, with additional essays by Chamanlal Gupta, Pino Marchese and Poppo Pingel, the book presents the work of two pioneer architects who, along with other architectural ‘forecomers’ like Roger Anger and Poppo Pingel, have left an indelible mark upon the fabric of the community.

Continuing the series of talks with young Aurovilians about their life in and work in Auroville, Jonas Suchanek, a young Aurovilian who has returned to Auroville recently and joined Tree Care, shares his thoughts on his life and what it means to be a young working Aurovilian today.

In Transition School, one class of 8–9 year olds have been taking part in a wellness programme. Paula, their teacher, explains that it begins with a brainstorming during which the kids are asked to come up with ideas about how they can stay well.