March – April 2009

"Auroville" - The community spirit....

So, part of my rationale for this India trip apart from revisiting Mama India (does one need another reason?) was basic research… I wanted to really see how people did the beach- bar- hostel- community thing - aiding my Colombia plan.

And what better way to research than to take part?

So, when I eventually heard and read about Auroville I realised how perfectly this fitted into my research plans and off I bounded..

I managed to grab a few of my ashram buddies and left the others with some pleading notes to join us later – so me, Mike-JEE and Marcel "trained" it round the southern tip of India towards Auroville..

Auroville is just outside Pondicherry – a town previously colonised by the French – I had heard a lot about this place and had high hopes for a glass of the vin rouge and perhaps just perhaps a taste of the filet mignon….

Alas, I didn't manage to fulfil my expectations too well – I blame the three weeks of Pancha Karma and yogic breathing – and thus was a tad let down. However, I did love the architecture of the place – in parts it really did feel like a piece of France - but I must admit my curiosity was getting the better of me, my feet were itching and I was fascinated by the idea and experience of Auroville..

For those not in the know (and trust me I wasn’t until I got within about 100km of the place) Auroville is a community started during the free love years by a French lady and her Indian guru friend… they had a dream – as many did around that time – and a community of sharing, love and peace was born.. It’s developed a lot since then, has achieved international status and is recognised as something very separate from its host India… I think the free- sharing- love concept has been warped a little too, but no doubt in the name of survival.. and the limited experience I actually had was extremely positive – other peoples take on it I tended to take with a pinch of salt, being a great believer in trusting my own first hand experiences. I was definitely left wanting to explore more..

it wasn’t as easy as I had naively hoped, to actually experience the community as it was designed to be. But with the number of tourists and fleeting interests in it, I wasn’t surprised that the residents guarded it like a special secret!

If I had stayed longer and persisted I am sure doors would have opened a little wider.

The centre of Aurovile – geographically and spiritually is this amazing Dome and its surrounding chambers.

It really is a feat to be reckoned with on many levels – aesthetically it’s beautiful; architecturally it’s fascinating and spiritually it’s a haven of peace and tranquillity.

Surrounding the Dome are various communities and peoples private homes. To immerse myself in the community living I decided to join one of them rather than stay in one of the hotels… I went to Sadannah Forest..

It is a vegan community primarily focussed on reforestation projects. There is a huge problem with water retention in the are which creates massive challenges for local agriculture. A very passionate and dedicated Israeli couple set up Sadannah Forest as a vegan community and tasked themselves with overcoming these issues -

They have done extremely well – they have built the community in keeping with the environment, making it completely self sufficient. They have recruited long term volunteers and have a short term programme (which I partook in) allowing visitors to contribute to and experience their vision – and also develop Saddannah Forest.

They have planted hundreds of trees

surrounding their land and have made an impressive impact on the water table – raising it to levels never seen before and so earning themselves the name of Water god by the locals.

Aside from this amazing work the environment of Sadannah Forest is amazing. It’s basically a group of strangers from all walks of life living

and working together to make sure the community functions.

Once the daily "maintaining the community" jobs have been allocated any spare hands continue the reforestation and development projects that has made Sadannah Forest what it is today.

It’s pure community life and an experience I have really enjoyed. I have learnt so much – from how to make and use solar kitchens, bike boosted generators

and herb circles

the joys of vegan cooking, experienced the wonder of communal cooking

and eating –

which I have always loved and am a great believer in – and of course I was exposed to many environmental projects

ideas and concepts that were totally new to me...

(Spirulina Mexican gurus; solar panel energy; toilet composting;

the joy of mud bathing to name but a few).

And that is aside from all the wonderful people I met at the community

all of us living in tree houses

and experiencing the same wonders together.

I’m very pleased I visited Sadannah Forest and I recommend it to anyone interested in environmental communities.

During my time at both Sadannah Forest and at Sivananda’s Ashram I started thinking a lot about home – At this point in my trip I was approaching the 6 month mark… I had another 6 months to go and lots of plans.. but I also had one of my best friends weddings going on in May and a matter of the heart which had started in Mumbai and although geographically was no more was lingering powerfully on….

Before any serious decisions could take place there was one place which I had to go to which could not be missed and which was my next mission – It included a beach (many of them), it was of course The Andaman Islands… The Andaman seed was planted during my first trip to India in 2001, and after sailing through them in 2007 on Callisto you could say the deal was done. It was never a question of "If?". Only of "When?". And now, at last, the time had come…

So after a sad farewell to my ashram and community buddies

I put my head down and tramped off to Calcutta to take the Andamans on single-handedly…. Beach haven here I come……