On February 28th, 2011, the work began for a new Matrimandir exhibit at the Visitor's Center. One year later, on the 44th birthday of Auroville's beginning, the exhibit opened at 9:30 a.m. following a concentration and consecration of the space. The exhibit, which was partially created with earth from the Matrimandir Gardens, was envisioned to be more a more spatial, visceral, and visual venue than the old exhibit. The creation was a smooth and quiet process, and was realized just in time for the one year deadline. Read more

At the end of the Auroville International Meeting 2012 we heard what AVI Centres actually do, how many active members they have, what is their focus and their aspirations. AVI Germany, USA, UK.... are one of the largest ones, with several activities and also considerable donation to Auroville for different purposes and projects. Today the number of AVI Centres is growing, adding to the family of centres supporting Aurovillie ideals and work all over the world. Soon we will have liaison of Turkey, Haiti, Hungary, Ethiopia.... joining us. Read more

Amongst many presentations on the agenda of Auroville International Meeting in Auroville 2012 was also International Zone. Core of coordinating group of International Zone are B, Linda Grace, Jyoti, Rakhal and Vani. Pavilion groups shortly presented activities and the course of action they're taking. With the inauguration of Multipurpose Hall at Unity Pavilion on 29th of February some new liasons of AVI will be created but most of the groups are still in the area of cultural and educational exchanges, events, performances... Read more

Just before his departure Marc Vella honored us with his last concert in Auroville, and first concert at CRIPA Hall in Kalabhumi. How strongly Aurovilians grown to fond of him was very much obvious not only by the numbers but also by respectful and loving attitude of the audience. Marc who shares his music and love with gentleness and utmost respect invited for that afternoon some of the performing and other artist to join him on the stage. Before leaving he assured us that his Love Caravan will start next year in Auroville. Read more

With the opening concert by the Auroville Choir, CRIPA - The Center for Research in the Performing Arts, opened its doors. Afsanah shortly introduced the purpose of CRIPA, which is near its completion, with the songs of the Auroville Choir led by Nuria. Sound design of CRIPA was led by Didier, and the sounds of the Auroville Choir quickly proved the quality of Didier's design. Although the Performance Hall in CRIPA is a large space, its capacity couldn't accommodate the great amount of people who wanted to listen to the opening concert. Read more

On Friday 3rd of February Aurodhan Gallery will present Sebastian Cortes's Pondicherry exhibition of fine art photographic images excluseively selected from the book launched at the same time. In today's news we feature an excerpt of interview with Sebastian, and an excerpt of last night violin and piano concert at Pitanga by two visiting Bulgarian guest artists Yoana Strateva and Ivelina Ivancheva. Tonight at at 5pm at Arka main Hall we can join Nakada and Gopika at Vedic chants, and at 8pm at harp meditation. Read more

Last Sunday in a pool outside of Auroville, AV's reputation for encouraging synchronicity succeeded in facilitating an artistic reunion of 3 accomplished performers. After catching up, all three musicians quickly realized they were available to perform on the same day as India's Republic Day, at 7.30pm for an hour at Arka. Mystical Meetings' concert began with Iraqi Oud virtuoso and singer, Anwar Abudragh, who quickly created a soothing ambience of subtle melodies transferring a packed audience to the Middle East and gently bringing us back. Read more

Aurelio sounded the Ring for the official opening of the new Svaram building. Puja interviewed him about this special day and its significance. He said that this particular building will serve as an exhibition place, storeroom and research space. Besides this Svaram has its first building on the outer ring road,. The new space replaces an old building that burnt down 3 years ago. It represents 1 degree of 360 degrees of the ring, and tries to invoke the original plan of Aruoville to manifest the symbol of the Galaxy plan. Read more

8th birthday of Sadhana Forest was really and occasion to celebrate. In an interview with Aviram, co-founder of Sadhana Forest Community we can hear short overview of what was going on last eight years with this so successful project of aforesatation. The fact is that this self sustainable community is great inspiration to many on this planet, and as Aviram says"..be sure that everything is possible, believe in Grace and Divine will support you..." on Puja question what have been his plan of action. Many visitors celebrated with Sadhana. Read more

Al settimo viaggio in India Paolo e Ludovica ci raccontano sia la loro storia personale che professionale legata al guppo musicale Nuove Tribu Zulu. Artisti da oltre vent'anni continuano il loro percorso interiore e musicale girando il mondo esplorando diverse culture e nuovi paesaggi sonori. NTZ hanno prodotto tre cd ed il quarto uscira' in Italia a marzo. Nuove Tribu Zulu hanno lavorato con i Rom nei loro campi nomadi, con babini nel Sud Africa ed altre situazioni di disagio sociale tra cui, Scampia, nel napoletano. Read more

Ricardo of New Dawn Carpentery speaks about his work in Auroville, his work in fine woodworking, his work as his yoga. Announcements: Thamarai, a cross cultural project that provides informal education, offers an open house 18th December, 10 a.m. E-mobility: a solution for AV Guests and Volunteers; they would like to offer an alternative to th rental of petrol vehicles. Contact chandresh@auroville.org.in for more information. Read more

On Sunday 18th of December Thamari Center in Edayanchavdi Village will open its doors for 10am onward with a lively evening program at 6.30 pm on the rooftop. At Thamari Centre 24 children play in the morning and around 40 children of different ages participate in the after school program. In the Healing Center they will also launch a bilingual book "Blooming Thamarai" , photographic representation of the artistic and self discovery of children trough the project of doll making, Krupa was exploring body image and identity of children with it.

On Saturday night at Sri Aurobindo Auditorium, Bharat Nivas, Pavilion of indian culture we had a chance to listen to a legendary Arild Andersen Trio. All three musicians - Arild Andersen (bass) from Norway, Tommy Smith (saxophone) from Scotland and Paolo Vinaccia(drums) from italy are well know names in jazz world, and winners of numerous prestigious awards. Saturday's jazz experience leaded us into a rich world of Norweigan and other cultures mythical world, opening spaces we never knew about it, and left the feeling of richness and magic. Read more

The new Auroville Library opens Monday 28 November at 9 am. Parking is along the Ring Road, opposite the Library. Gratitude to former librarian Juergen, whose idea and vision it was to create the right Library for Auroville; without his dream, his relentless energy and push, there would be no new Library here today. Tomatis Programmes: available for both therapeutic purposes and language assimilation. The Tomatis Method addresses not just problems and disabilities, but enhances potential and creativity in its wide range of applications. Read more

The second instalment of the live radio debates from the Auroville Film Festival action station took place Saturday evening. The topic 'I am, You are, We are Film makers' was chosen to encourage film makers from different backgrounds to get together and discuss the film making process and all things connected with film. There were seven participants and the debate was moderated by Chloe'. This is what the participants had to say: Indrani - "This is the first time I am trying film making, thanks to the AVFF - Education Outreach Program. Read more

On Thursday September 8 in the Picture Gallery at Savitri Bhavan Ladislav Brozman, a well-known musician and violinist from Sri Aurobindo Ashram performed a Solo Violin Recital. The repertoir was consisted of Sonatas by Johann Sebastian Bach (C-Major Sonata), Eugene Ysaye (First sonata for violin solo) and Arthur Honegger. The attending public was enraptured in enveloping sound-waves of eternal music. It was as if the higher world of harmony descended in this moment from higher spiritual plane. Read more

Since December 2008 a group of Aurovilians have been meeting weekly at Savitri Bhavan for group study of Sri Aurobindo’s major philosophical work. In 1913, Sri Aurobindo noted that part of his mission was to restate the truths of the Veda and Vedanta in terms accessible to the modern mind. In The Life Divine the ancient truths, illumined by his own experience, are made accessible to the human reason and shown to be the foundation for his affirmative vision of the evolutionary process and the significance of our individual existence on earth. Read more

On Saturday, 14th August, a memorial gathering was held in Savitri Bhavan dedicated to Syam Sundar who recently passed away. Shyam Sundar was appointed by the Mother as the secretary of Auroville affairs and was involved in the township project from the very beginning. About thirty Aurovilians and fifteen Ashramites gathered in Savitri Bhavan to pay tribute to Shyam Sundar. After a short meditation, several friends spontaneously shared their reminiscences of Shyamsunder, who had taken significant roles in his lifetime. Read more

Book 2 Canto 3 The Glory and the Fall of Life (page 120 ~ 121). This recording is a sample of a class that is being given by Shraddhavan weekly at Savitri Bhavan. The aim is to help people whose mother tongue is not English, but who have an aspiration to read Savitri with correct pronunciation and rhythm, and with some first understanding of the words and images of Sri Aurobindo’s revelatory epic. As a side-effect, it is hoped that they can improve their knowledge of the English language. Read more

Uday Bhawalkar performed Rag Lalith in his morning concert at White Hall, Bharat Niwas. The hour-and-half long rendition enraptured the audience. He was accompanied on the Pakawaj by Pratap Awadh and on the Tanpura by Sagar and Jaisingh. Uday was born in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh. He began training in Hindustani classical music from his elder sister. His love for the music led him to one of the most prolific figures in the ancient Dhrupad, Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar and his elder brother, Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagarsahab. Read more

The TDC discussed the need to develop nodal areas in each zone of the international zone and consolidating growth while creating an urban feeling. The group also spoke about starting new projects. A proposal has been made for the new Cite Universitaire. The chairman, Mr. Doshi, elaborated on the need for a urban design, sustainability, knowledge transfer, centralizing and decentralizing, diversity in unity with regard to the usage of space in the Universitaire while avoiding duplication of common facilities. Read more

With Tibetan visitors we talked about Auroville, Tibet, world, and their experiences . And if means to be a citizen that you belong somewhere, for Tibetan life of refugees is hard since the government in exile cannot issue them citizenship . Those who might obtain citizenship in any country around the world they remain to be Tibetans by their hearts but they also appreciate the feeling of belonging. Internationally they do get lot of support, but at the same time they also know that they do not have the same opportunities as others. Read more

This is a short interview with two of the organizers of the Africa Cultural Event this Saturday 28th of May. Eric from South Africa an Aurovillian to be, and Valentine from Kenya a former student living in Pondicherry. In this Broadcast they speak about their hopes and visions on the establishment of an African unity center here in Auroville. Read more

It felt like the spirit of the Divine had investigated the Sri Aurobindo's Auditorium at Bharat Nivas while Latif Bolat and Parvathy Baul sang and read mystic poetry during their common concert on Saturday April 30th evening. The Sufi Scholar and Musician ended his stay at Auroville offering some talks on the history of the Sufism journey, reading contemporary poems and playing some of his compositions. To finish his play, Latif Bolat chose a song based on the "Hiroshima Poem" reminding that "mysticism is not a dry abstract something out here" but it has been involved in society, social justice and human goodness since always. Read more

The Turkish Sufi musician and scholar Latif Bolar shares his deep diction and melodies on his third, and last night of enriching talks and presentations on Islam at the SAWCHU, Bharat Nivas in Auroville. In this lecture "The Spiritual Essence of Islam : A 1400 year-long Journey, listeners are given, with a balance of poetry, tales and ancient traditional music, an in depth understanding of the Golden Age of Islam. Amongst other things, Latif Bolar talks about its influence in the movement of European Enlightenment, and the development of social concept of Sufism. Read more

The Tibetan Pavilion was packed on April Tuesday 26th in the evening as Turkish Sufi Musician and Sufi scholar, Latif Bolat, came to give a lecture on the journey of the mystics from Islam, the mystic Sufi tradition. It took him exactly one hour and a half to go through over 26 000 years of history and making it very clear to the audience on how Sufism was born and developed throughout the centuries and the world. Read more

Jacky Mouvillat's acoustic concert took place on Friday evening, April 8th 2011, at Pitanga's Cultural Center. The "Stick Chapman" musician performed with the delightful French singer Anaka and the Tabla Master, Manosh Bardhan. For more than an hour, the trio graciously played, combining the innovative talent of Jacky with the harmony of the Indian Tabla rhythms, offering an elegant fusion-music moment. The occasion offered as well a chance to discover the "Stick Chapman" instrument wideness of sonorities. Captivated by Anaka's charming voice and beauty, the audience was thrilled. Read more

In today's news the feature is the White Peacock Clay Project, creation of Anna and Saraswati, located in a corner of the Kindergarten campus where children 3 years old up to elderly come to experience the transformative pleasure of working with clay. Also announcements in the news: 'Remembering the Mother,' at Savitri Bhavan tomorrow; the Auroville Film Festival 2011 is looking for films that develop the theme of human unity, which have been produced from January 2008 onwards and, an advance reminder of a General Meeting which will be held on Monday April 11 at 5 pm at SAWCHU. The topic: Presentation and discussion on the self assessment of the Working Committee and Auroville Council terms, along with comments/feedback from other working groups and individuals, an opportunity to bring constructive and effective input to this important community process. Read more

Last weekend the Auroville Choir performed a concert of Celtic songs at Pitanga to a packed house both Saturday and Sunday. The surprise in this particular concert was the finale; Anandi, choir member and daughter of Nuria and Joan, had composed the music for a poem by Wordsworth: romantic lyrics set to romantic, haunting music. In the very air of Pitanga was excitement as the choir members readied themselves to express the joy of singing for an audience, after much work, much practice and repetition under the skillful hands of conductor Nuria. Read more

Featured in today's news is an interview with Nuria, who conducts the Auroville Choir,who creates a space, an atmosphere that brings out the joy and willingness in us to sing together in peace and harmony. This weekend's concert 19th and 20th March at Pitanga will be sung acappella and, in this concert, there will be a surprise! Read more