The Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Auroville
The main Ashram compound is open every day 4.30am-11pm, though 'visitors' (not connected with the Ashram) are normally restricted to 8am-6pm.
Sri Aurobindo's room is open daily 9.30am for those wishing to visit on their birthday. Permission can be obtained 3-4pm the day before, or 9.15-9.30am on the actual day.
On Darshan days - Feb 21, Apr 24, Aug 15 and Nov 24 - Sri Aurobindo's and/or The Mother's room may be visited from 6am until the queue is completed, with a break 10-10.30am for meditation. Tokens for Aurovilians wishing to visit at a set time can be obtained through Mallika, if requested in advance. Otherwise one has to queue for a token, usually opposite the Ashram main gate.
Reception (inside Ashram) is open every day 8-12am and 2-5pm for information and photo sales (ph.8-34836). There is also a separate Information Bureau at Cottage Guest House (ph.8-39648).
The days/timings for various associated units are as follows:
General Description of Population
Mostly Gounder caste (a backward caste) and Harijans, working as small farmers, fishermen, manual labourers, and skilled and unskilled workers in Pondicherry and Auroville. The whole area was certified "backward and in need of development" by the Collector of South Arcot District in 1984.
There are 13 villages in the immediate Auroville area, comprising about 20,000 people. The approximate total for the larger area around Auroville is 35,000. Of this total, nearly 3,000 are employed by Auroville, and benefit from training opportunities and other advantages such as improved health and education opportunities.
Auroville is inextricably intertwined with the villages. At the outset, people from the nearest villages sold land for the project. Now parts of this reforested land provide fodder and firewood for the villagers, and as a consequence the number of trees left standing on village land is noticeably greater than in other arid parts of India.
Common problems shared by Auroville and the villages include the falling water table, declining soil fertility, and the health and environmental problems associated with the spraying of pesticides by the villagers. Points of friction between the two communities have mostly derived from different attitudes to farming and afforestation, and, to some extent, from the expectation that Auroville would provide more material help for local development. On the positive side, apart from the employment and skills-training offered by Auroville, there are many businesses in the villages which have been started with the help or inspiration of Auroville, some doing handicrafts for export, some providing services to Auroville units and individuals, some simply prospering on the increased wealth of the area resulting in general from Auroville's presence. Then there are the schools: about 350 village children attend schools established by Auroville, and many others attend Auroville-sponsored creches and evening Education Centres in 13 nearby villages. In addition, Auroville youth have joined with the educated youth of Kuilapalayam village to set up the Kuilapalayam School Trust, which aims to provide conventional primary and high-school education for the village children.
Regarding health care, the Auroville Health Centre, and its several sub-centres in the villages, handles about 200 village patients daily, and 20 local women trained in first aid serve their own villages. The Auroville Greenwork Resource Centre also runs training programmes in organic agriculture and soil restoration for local farmers, who increasingly turn to Auroville for assistance in bunding their fields and for the provision of selected trees. Some villages have started eco-clubs for school children, and kitchen garden groups for women.
On the whole, bearing in mind the vast cultural differences, the relationship between Auroville and the villages is quite good. Each views the other as somewhat alien, but as the years have passed there has been a growth in mutual understanding. Above all, Auroville recognises its inter-dependency with the local population, and knows that in the long run both the villages and Auroville have to evolve together.
For more information send e-mail to: avliaison@auroville.org