As a universal township that has drawn seekers of truth from around the globe and as a continuing experiment in human unity, community living and alternative sustenance, Auroville has always had to balance its metaphysical pursuits with resolving mundane problems.
And, as Auroville approaches the golden jubilee of its founding in 1968 by Sri Aurobindo’s spiritual compatriot Mirra Alfassa, known as The Mother to her followers, the global community of 2,500 residents from 62 countries is likely to be introspecting even more on the progress achieved in realising the goals set for 2025.
On Wednesday, Auroville launched an ‘Art for Land’ exhibition-cum-auction of paintings at the Unity Pavilion as a fund-raiser for advancing the universal township project. The exhibition specifically seeks to raise funds for acquiring land for housing the four zones envisaged in the master plan.
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The exhibition, which is on till February 28, features well-known artists from Auroville and the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, as well as from abroad, who are joining hands to help Auroville in securing the lands still needed to complete the project.
Many of the participating artists – among them Priya Sundaravalli, Priti Ghosh, Pierre le Grand, Chantal Gowhra, Marie-Claire Barsotti and Adil Writer – are well established and widely known in India and abroad.
The works involve various forms including paintings and drawings, sculptures, ceramics and photography. The artists have donated their works, which will be exhibited and then auctioned on February 25.
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Sale of photographs
Parallelly, a sale of hundreds of beautiful and rare photographs of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother will also be held. There will also be cultural programmes in the evenings at the Unity Pavilion throughout the month, where artists from a variety of fields will perform.
It is estimated that the Auroville expanse is considerably short of its land requirements. “Auroville still needs to secure about 40% of the land in the Master Plan projection of 3,930 acres for the full realisation of its grand vision,” said Fabienne at Auroville Outreach.
“Securing land has remained the most daunting challenge,” said P.R. Srinivasamurty, Under Secretary, Auroville Foundation. “We need another 200 acres for the core city area and couple of thousand acres more for the green belt that encircles the city,” he pointed out.
It was in 1954 that The Mother envisioned giving shape to a place upon earth “that no nation could claim as its sole property, a place where all human beings of goodwill, sincere in their aspiration, could live freely as citizens of the world….”
The models that French architect Roger Anger, who was invited to Auroville by The Mother, came up with ranged from a simple circle to an interstellar nebula and a galaxy-shaped structure. The Mother determined that the Auroville universal township that would eventually house a population of about 50,000 with the Matrimandir as its centre and soul should represent the shape of the galaxy.
The Auroville humanity project, which began with the support of the Government of India and UNESCO, expects to break new ground in settlement planning and serve a model for other cities in India and across the world that experience extreme urbanisation pressures. Perhaps, most significantly, it aims to demonstrate how urban and rural areas can develop in a holistic fashion in a complementary way.
Auroville’s design comprises four zones — the residential zone, international zone, industrial zone and cultural zone. Apart from single and family units of varying sizes, the housing pattern featuring a succession of buildings in “lines of force” will also have units with provision for four or five groups of singles to share common kitchenettes, living rooms and bathrooms to encourage social interaction and community building.
“We plan to at least have in place major infrastructure necessities such as roads, electricity and water supply by 2018 as well as to have enough housing units for visitors to savour the experience of living in Auroville,” Mr. Srinivasamurty said.
The Auroville community led by Sauro Mezzetti, Consultant International Relations and City Networking Project Advisor at the L’Avenir d’Auroville, has been engaged in a variety of fund-raising ventures, including tapping donors.
‘Art for Land’ is one such initiative.
All art work for the auction can be viewed online at www.artforland.
avgreencenter.org and bidding can be done at artforland.auroville.org/ More details are with Jaya at the Unity Pavilion 0413 2623576 or email unitypavilion