Auroville was founded in 1968, with a vision to build an international city to upend rigid class and caste systems and be free of the pollution, traffic, chaos, rubbish, social isolation and suburban sprawl that have poisoned modern urban environments.
Here are some interesting facts about this famous town in India:
1. Auroville is also known as the City of Dawn
Pondicherry or Puducherry is popular for its beaches and pretty french colonies. Not far away from Puducherry is the experimental community of Auroville. People from all over the world live here in harmony. This township thus is a perfect example of human unity. Mira Alfassa – the spiritual companion of Sri Aurobindo founded Auroville in 1968. The concept of Auroville was well supported by the Indian Government as well as UNESCO.
2. The founder is called The Mother
Auroville was founded in the year 1968 . Sri Aurobindo’s visions are the core ideas of Auroville. Sri Aurobindo was an Indian nationalist turned spiritual reformer. He was a poet, philosopher and a yogi.
Mirra Alfassa known as “The Mother” was the spiritual collaborator of Sri Aurobindo. She founded Auroville in 1968. This project was backed by Indian Government as well as by UNESCO.
3. Auroville built to house50,000 peoplefrom all over the world
Now has a population of only 2500 people. 5000 people from 124 countries attended the inauguration and deposited soil from their homeland to an urn.
4. Auroville doesn’t use currency but anaurocardfor making transactions
The residents of this unique township do not use currency inside Auroville. Instead, they are given account numbers (connected to their main account) and transactions are done via an ‘aurocard’ (that works like a debit card).
Money earned from the daily visitors and guests are also used for the township’s upkeep. Small-scale industries (like hand-made paper, incense sticks etc) have also be set up to raise funds for various projects.
5. Healthcare and electricity is free for residents
6. Schooling is free with students having theflexibilityto study subjects at their own pace
Kids are encouraged to learn the subjects of their choice and at their own pace. As for the maintenance, the residents provide manpower and make contributions to the foundation on a monthly basis.
7. Any money earned contribute to the towns upkeep
Nothing in Auroville is owned by any person there. Every single asset in the township is owned by the Auroville Foundation, which, in turn, is owned by the Government of India’s Ministry of Human Resource Development.
8. One can volunteer or intern, study in Auroville
Auroville also the home of many futuristic experiments, from energy and ecology to economics and education. These include a one-of-its-kind collective provisioning operation, Pour Tous, in which members contribute a certain amount monthly and then take whatever they feel they need, without paying for the individual items provided.
Farmlands owned by Auroville produce crops consumed by the township in addition to working as research centres for sustainable agriculture and water conservation. For instance, Buddha Garden is a farm that experiments with sensor-based precision irrigation system — the first crop cycle saw an almost 80% drop in water consumption!
If you are ready for the trip of your life, it is time to choose such an experience right now!
Comments