Auroville is a remarkable place, its
heart marked by the Matri Mandir. It's a shiny globe, reflecting the
sun, each of the petal on which it is mounted is an expanse of greens
manicured to the hilt. From the sighting spot you rest under a tree and
take in its beauty and wonder what would be the experience inside. Well
you can book a time in advance here, there are certain days on which concentration
is not available but on most other days after a brief cleansing ritual
you might get an opportunity to go inside and concentrate.
The geographical center of Auroville is a banyan tree. It
was a lone tree on this once barren land that is now a lush green wooded
city. This is a continuously evolving city, with a motto
"Auroville wants 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 realise human unity."
We went to the visitor's center and got our permissions to see the place. Walking thru the woods to see the Matri Mandir, at every few yards there were people to guide visitors.
We
briefly rested under the Banyan tree
The entire walk is
shaded, sometimes thru pergolas
After the Matri Mandir we
returned to the visitor's center, starved and ate at the cafeteria only
after satisfying our appetite for shopping first.
My loot from Auroville,
pottery distinct and characteristic
I also
bought cotton shirts for the men in the family and a lace top for my
SIL. I picked a beautiful pair of pearl earings for myself. Everything here has a melting pot effect. The influences of the 40 different nationalities of people living here is clear in the charachter of Auroville.
The food is
continental at the cafeteria and we gorged on the superb platters, one
of Rice croquettes with caponata sauce, salads, soup and a payasam and
the other of Mushroom tart, salads and potato wedges. This washed down
by lots of lemonade. We polished of the meal with a caramel custard!
We wanted
to see more of Auroville but because of the misinformation that vehicles
are not allowed in Auroville we did not hire a cab for the entire day
and that made it difficult for us to move around. Auroville's main roads
does permit vehicles and it is a huge expanse so you do need a vehicle
to go around. In the wooded areas only bicycles are permitted. If you
know cycling nothing like it. Else if you are like me who can't then you
must have your own\ rented vehicle or walking around to the far corners
is out of question. I know there is more to Auroville to be explored at
another time...
