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Aurov ille - Wikipedia, the f ree ency clopedia

Auroville

Coordinates: 12025N 794838E

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Auroville (City of Dawn) is an "experimental" township

in Viluppuram district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India,
near Pondicherry in South India. It was founded in 1968
by Mirra Alfassa (also known as "The Mother") and
designed by architect Roger Anger.[1][2][3] As stated in
Alfassa's first public message about the township,
"Auroville is meant to be a universal town where men and
women of all countries are able to live in peace and
progressive harmony, above all creeds, all politics and all
nationalities. The purpose of Auroville is to realize human
unity."

Auroville
town

Town hall of Auroville

Contents
1 History
2 The Matrimandir
3 Government, belief system
4 Society and population
5 Economy
6 Location
7 Communications and media
8 Films about Auroville
9 See also
10 References
11 Bibliography
12 External links

Auroville

Coordinates: 12025N 794838E

History
Auroville was founded as a project of the Sri Aurobindo
Society on Wednesday 28 February 1968 by Mirra
Alfassa, "The Mother". She was spiritual collaborator of
Sri Aurobindo, who believed that "man is a transitional
being". Mother expected that this experimental "universal
township" would contribute significantly in the "progress
of humanity towards its splendid future by bringing
together people of goodwill and aspiration for a better
world." Mother also believed that such a universal
township will contribute decisively to the Indian
renaissance (Ref. Mother's Agenda, Vol. 9, dt.3.02.68).
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurov ille

Country
State
District
Population (2007)
Total
Languages
Official

India
Tamil Nadu
Viluppuram
2,047
Tamil

Time zone

IST (UTC+5:30)

PIN
Telephone code

605101
0413
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The Government of India endorsed the township, and in 1966, UNESCO also endorsed it inviting the memberstates to participate in the development of Auroville. UNESCO re-endorsed Auroville four times more in the
course of the last 40 years[citation needed].
In the inauguration ceremony attended by delegates of 124 nations on 28 February 1968, Mother gave Auroville its
4-point Charter setting forth her vision of Integral living:
1. Auroville belongs to nobody in particular. Auroville belongs to humanity as a whole. But to live in Auroville,
one must be the willing servitor of the Divine Consciousness.
2. Auroville will be the place of an unending education, of constant progress, and a youth that never ages.
3. Auroville wants to be the bridge between the past and the future. Taking advantage of all discoveries from
without and from within, Auroville will boldly spring towards future realisations.
4. Auroville will be a site of material and spiritual researches for a living embodiment of an actual Human Unity.

The Matrimandir
In the middle of the town is the Matrimandir, which has been
acclaimed as "an outstanding and original architectural
achievement"[citation needed]. It was conceived by "The Mother" as
"a symbol of the Divine's answer to man's inspiration for perfection".
Silence is maintained inside the Matrimandir to ensure the tranquility
of the space and entire area surrounding the Matrimandir is called
Peace area
(http://www.auroville.org/thecity/matrimandir/mm_peacearea.htm) .
Inside the Matrimandir, a spiraling ramp leads upwards to an airconditioned chamber of polished white marble referred to as "a
place to find one's consciousness". The surface of the dome has
The Matrimandir, a golden metallic sphere
56 kg of Gold, which was sandwiched between as thin sheets.At its
in the center of town.
centre is a 70 cm crystal ball in a gold mount which glows with a
single ray of sunlight that is directed on the globe from the top of the
structure. According to Mother, this represents "a symbol of future realisation."
Matrimandir is equipped with a solar power plant and is surrounded by manicured gardens. When there is no sun
or after the sunset, the sunray on the globe is replaced by a beam from a solar powered light.
Radiating from this center are four "zones" of the City Area: the "Residential Zone", "Industrial Zone", "Cultural (&
Educational) Zone" and "International Zone". Around the City or the urban area, lies a Green Belt which is an
environment research and resource area and includes farms and forestries, a botanical garden, seed bank, medicinal
and herbal plants, water catchment bunds, and some communities.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Auroville_Layout,_Pondicherry.JPG
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Great_Banyan_Tree,_Auroville,_Pondicherry.JPG

Government, belief system

Auroville is governed by the Auroville Foundation through an act of the Indian Parliament.[4][5] The Ministry of
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Human Resource Development appoints the Governing Board who, in turn, appoints the key committees such as
the Funds and Assets Management, the Budget Co-ordination,
l'Avenir (city planning authority). The Foundation, thus fully
controlled by the Indian Government, currently owns about half of
the total land required for the township. The remaining lands are
being purchased whenever funds are available.
Politics and religion are not supposed to be in Auroville. It is the
Foundation, not the inhabitants, which owns the houses.[6]

Society and population

Vrit Learning Centre

Although originally intended to house 50,000, the actual population

today is 2,200 (1,553 adults and 454 minors), coming from 43
nationalities, 836 of whom are of Indian origin.[7] The community is
divided up into neighborhoods with English, Sanskrit, French and
Tamil names like Aspiration, Arati, La Ferme, and
Isaiambalam.[8]

Economy
Instead of paper and coin currency, residents are given account
numbers to connect to their central account. Visitors, however, are
requested to get a temporary account and an Aurocard (a debit
card).
Residents of Auroville are expected to contribute a monthly
contribution to the community. They are asked to help the
community whenever possible by work, money, or kind. "Guest
contribution", or a daily fee payable by the guests of Auroville,
constitutes a part of Auroville's budget. There is a system of
Auroville Population 2010
maintenance, whereby those Aurovilians who need can receive
from the community a monthly maintenance which cover simple
basic needs of life. Auroville's economy and its overall life are of an evolving nature and there are ongoing
experiments to reach closer to the vision.[9]
Although the Government of India owns and manages the Auroville Foundation, it only finances a small part of
Auroville's budget, which is mainly formed by contributions from Auroville's commercial units which contribute 33%
of their profits to Auroville's Central Fund, and by donations. There are guest houses, building construction units,
information technology, small and medium scale businesses, producing and re-selling items such as handmade paper
for stationery items, as well as producing its well-known incense sticks, which can be bought in Auroville's own
shop in Pondicherry, or are sold around India and abroad. Each of these units contributes a considerable part of
their profits to the township. Over 5000 people, mostly from the nearby localities, are employed in various sections
and units of Auroville.
Other activities include afforestation, organic agriculture, basic educational research, health care, village
development, appropriate technology, town planning, water table management, cultural activities and community
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services.

Location
Auroville is composed of a cluster of properties some 12 km north
of Pondicherry. It can be easily reached via the East Coast Road
(ECR) which connects Chennai and Pondicherry. The visitor centre
and Matrimandir can be reached by travelling six kilometres
westwards from the signposted turnoff at the ECR. Turning east
leads directly to Auroville's private beach called Repos, several
hundred metres away.

Communications and media

The Auroville website provides open as well as restricted forums for
various projects, interests, organizations and outreach which make
up the life of the community.[10] The opinions expressed in these
publications are not necessarily those of the community at large.
Auroville radio website provides a lot of recordings and daily news
covering events in Auroville. Auroville has a small 'OutreachMedia'
team to regulate visits of journalists and film/video makers. Their aim
is to ensure that all journalists and filmmakers get official, up-to-date
information and representative footage from reliable sources.

Films about Auroville

Auroville Main Road

Auro Beach

At present, any filming within and about Auroville requires

permission from the Government of India.[11] In May 2008, the BBC produced a 10-minute Newsnight film about
Auroville, which was aired on TV.[12] A short version was aired on Radio 4's "From Our Own Correspondent". It
also appeared on BBC On-line.[13] The reports contrasted the idealism of its founders with allegations by some
people that the community tolerates pedophiles, especially in a school that Auroville has established for local village
children. Auroville complained to the BBC that the report was biased, untrue and contravened BBC editorial
guidelines. The BBC Editorial Complaints Unit did not uphold any of the complaints. Police officers of the Tamil
Nadu government visited Auroville and surrounding area to check the truth of BBC allegations and found it
false[citation needed].
In 1971, the National Film Board of Canada released The India Trip, a documentary film about Auroville as seen
through the eyes of a Concordia University professor who had spent a year in the community, with his family.[14]

See also
Sri Aurobindo Ghose
Mirra Alfassa
Sri Aurobindo Ashram
Pondicherry
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Pondicherry (city)

References
1. ^ "Roger Anger as architect" (http://www.boloji.com/architecture/00053.htm) . Boloji.com.
http://www.boloji.com/architecture/00053.htm. Retrieved 2012-01-26.
2. ^ "Auroville founded by Mira Richards" (http://www.architectureweek.com/2005/1116/culture_1-1.html) .
Architectureweek.com. 2005-11-16. http://www.architectureweek.com/2005/1116/culture_1-1.html. Retrieved
2012-01-26.
3. ^ "Mirra Alfassa as other name" (http://www.auroville.info/ACUR/templates/avfuture.htm) . Auroville.info.
http://www.auroville.info/ACUR/templates/avfuture.htm. Retrieved 2012-01-26.
4. ^ "The Auroville Foundation Act (1988)" (http://education.nic.in/cd50years/x/7H/9D/7H9D0101.htm) .
Education.nic.in. http://education.nic.in/cd50years/x/7H/9D/7H9D0101.htm. Retrieved 2012-01-26.
5. ^ "Auroville News & Notes No.251"
(http://auroville.org/journals&media/newsandnotes/NewsNotes_no_251_July_12_08.zip) .
http://auroville.org/journals&media/newsandnotes/NewsNotes_no_251_July_12_08.zip. Retrieved 2012-01-26.
6. ^ Huggler, Justin (2005-08-18). "Universal City: No Drink. No Drugs. No Politics. No Religion. No Pets... So Is
This Utopia?" (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/no-drink-no-drugs-no-politics-no-religion-no-petsso-is-this-utopia-503292.html) . The Independent (London). http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/nodrink-no-drugs-no-politics-no-religion-no-pets-so-is-this-utopia-503292.html. Retrieved 2007-10-21.
7. ^ "Official census of April, 2008" (http://www.auroville.org/society/av_population.htm) . Auroville.org.
http://www.auroville.org/society/av_population.htm. Retrieved 2012-01-26.
8. ^ List of neighbourhoods (http://www.auroville.org/society/housing.htm) .
9. ^ "Forbes India" (http://business.in.com/article/work-in-progress/commerce-in-a-cocoon/3722/1) .
Business.in.com. http://business.in.com/article/work-in-progress/commerce-in-a-cocoon/3722/1. Retrieved 201201-26.
10. ^ Auroville Journals & newsletters (http://www.auroville.org/journals&media/journals.htm)
11. ^ News & Notes 10 March 2012 [438]
12. ^ BBC Two (22 May 2008). Indian town's sex abuse claims
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/7413982.stm) . Retrieved on: 21 June 2008.
13. ^ BBC News (24 May 2008). Local concerns over Indian utopia
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/7417864.stm) . Retrieved on: 21 June
2008.
14. ^ Davies, Bill. "The India Trip" (http://www.nfb.ca/film/india_trip/) . Documentary film. National Film Board of
Canada. http://www.nfb.ca/film/india_trip/. Retrieved 27 June 2011.

Bibliography
English Titles:
Abundance Publications. The Auroville Handbook.Pondicherry: All-India Press, 2007.
Auroville Development Perspectives 19931998 An Invitation To Participate, Typoscript,
Autoren/Hrsg. Auroville Development Group, BharatNivas, Auroville 1993, no ISBN
K.M. Agarwala (Hrsg.): Auroville - The City Of Dawn, Sri Aurobindo Center New Delhi 1996, no ISBN
Auroville References in Mother's Agenda, Auroville Press, Auroville, no Y., no ISBN
Jerome Clayton Glenn: Linking the Future: Findhorn, Auroville Arcosanti, published by Hexiad Project/
Center on Technology and Society, Cambridge, Massachusetts 1979, no ISBN
Anupama Kundoo: Roger Anger, Research on Beauty, Architecture 1953-2008, JOVIS Verlag Berlin
2009, ISBN 978-3-86859-006-7

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2009, ISBN 978-3-86859-006-7

Lonely Planet 2005: India, no ISBN
Peter Richards: Experience!Auroville Guide Book for Guests and Visitors, Pondicherry 2000, no
ISBN
Savitra: Auroville: Sun-Word Rising A Trust For The Earth, published by The Community of
Auroville, Auroville 1980, no ISBN
The Auroville Adventure Selections from ten years of Auroville Today, published by Auroville
Today, Auroville 1998, no ISBN
The Auroville Experience Selections from 202 issues of Auroville Today, November 1988 to
November 2005, published by Auroville Today, Auroville 2006, no ISBN
German titles:
Mira Alfassa: Die Mutter ber Auroville, Auropublikations (Hrsg.), Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust,
Pondicherry 1978, no ISBN
Renate Brger: Auroville Eine Vision blht, Verlag Connection Medien, Niedertaufkirchen 2004, 3.
vernderte Aufl., ISBN 3-928248-01-4
Alan G. (Hrsg.): Auroville Ein Traum nimmt Gestalt an, o.O. (vermutlich Auroville/ Pondicherry)
1996, 1. dt. Aufl., o.ISBN
Michael Klostermann: Auroville Stadt des Zukunftsmenschen; Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag,
Frankfurt/M., Februar 1976; ISBN 3-436-02254-3

External links
Official site (http://www.auroville.org) of Auroville
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Auroville&oldid=526826561"
Categories: Populated places established in 1968 1968 establishments in India Utopian communities
Sri Aurobindo Tourism in Pondicherry Integral thought New Age Ecovillages Planned cities in India
Cities and towns in Viluppuram district Schools affiliated with the Sri Aurobindo Ashram

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