I learned of Auroville’s existence during the university period, if I remember correctly while preparing an exam for cultural anthropology, or perhaps urban planning.
Auroville is in fact considered an experimental city, an example as there are many others in the world, of companies or better alternative communities, and far from the predominant socio-economic system. The curiosity towards it was one of the reasons why I decided to travel to this part of India.
WHAT IS AUROVILLE?
This city originated in 1968 following the vision of Sri Aurobindo and Mirra Alfassa better known as “La mère” (“the mother”) and was designed by the architect Roger Anger, for the sole purpose of creating a universal city where men and women of every nation, and of every political and religious creed could live in peace and harmony.
Auroville’s purpose is to create human unity based on love and nature. In this city there is no private property, no money circulates, and all the inhabitants have an Auroville Card with which to manage the “payments”. The city prides itself on being an eco-city where safeguarding the environment and natural resources is a priority.
My days in Auroville coincided with the Pongal Festival (read post “Curiosity and facts about Tamil Nadu”) and therefore the events planned inside and outside the community were different.
Small clarification, do not think that there are entrance and exit gates, the Auroville area is huge, and it is a place immersed in or in any case surrounded by the dry forest typical of the area. So even if you are staying in one of the structures surveyed by the community, you can participate or be part of Auroville’s life.
BUT WHAT DOES A VISITOR DO IN AUROVILLE?
It depends on what you are looking for… Me as many other young backpackers I was looking for answers, to get an idea of the place, understand how it works, how you become part of the community becoming Aurovillian, in short, all useful information in case a person should decide to move here, as many do. In reality, however, once you arrive in Auroville, you do not know what to do, ’cause the information center is just a place where photos and history of the place are exposed, where videos are transmitted, but there is not one person who takes care of the orientation.
In the meantime, you can take a tour of the community and talk to the people who live there, take part in the festivals in the woods, take a vegan cake in one of the scattered places or shop with hippies. One of the most interesting and useful activities that I experienced during the days spent in Auroville was visiting the reforestation project in the Sadhana Forest. I would have liked to join the community of volunteers who from all over the world decide to invest their time for this cause, but unfortunately if before it was possible to volunteer even for short periods, now the minimum required time is 2 months, this for issue related to the Visa.
Another thing a person shouldn’t miss is the visit to the Matrimandir, for which you have to put yourself on a waiting list for several days. The Matrimandir is a building of spiritual significance for integral yoga practitioners, in the center of Auroville established by the founders. It is the soul of the city and is located in a large open space called Pace. It doesn’t belong to any religion.
The guided tour, strictly without cell phones or video cameras, is curated by one of the inhabitants of Auroville and during the visit, it will be possible to meditate inside the “internal chamber”, one of the most important and sacred places for the city.
Only Aurovillians can go to the Matrimandir without any permission since this place was created with the idea that it was a place of meditation for the inhabitants.
WHAT DO I THINK ABOUT AUROVILLE?
When we talk about Auroville many people ask if this company reflects the purposes of its creation, but to answer it we should live there for some time …
Staying in Auroville for a while, I saw many wealthy French people shopping in boutiques that had little to do with hippies, and even the houses seem quite large and not very humble. And therefore perhaps what some say is true, namely that whoever has more money has more possibilities here too, and that among the requirements that you must have in order to enter the community, your bank account is a plus. The Matrimandir itself has cost a lot of money (private individuals, of course) and in fact, it seems a symbol of opulence. The gardens around it need constant maintenance and water which is very scarce in this part of India.
Since there is always a though, I can say that the idea behind all this is very beautiful, here, now many years ago, many young people full of ideas from all over the world have decided to create something unique in the world, and to do so they first worked hard, if you consider that the whole area currently covered by vegetation was then desert. And this certainly has also benefited the Indians, who generally look favorably on this utopian city.
In the days spent in Auroville, I breathed a special atmosphere, a fresh air of something new, different, and it is easy to understand why so many people from all over the world have decided to live their lives in this place … it’s nice to see a community of people from different countries and backgrounds, whose sole purpose is to be happy, at peace, and in contact with nature.