Issue Nº419-420 – In Memoriam

Martin Zbinden, a resident of New Creation Field, passed away on April 30th due to a heart failure.

Martin came to Auroville in 1997 with his family from Switzerland, Nadja, Luca and David. He started working at the Forecomers nursery, then worked at the New Creation School kitchen, then at the Matrimandir Nursery, where he developed his passion for the Plumerias and enthused everyone with his love for plants. For the past 12 years he was an integral part of the Botanical Garden team, tending to the Plumerias and other garden areas he had created, as well as welcoming and mentoring so many of the volunteers who came to the gardens. He also had a great appreciation for the landscape of Tamil Nadu and was particularly attracted to the rocky landscapes of Gingee where he created a sanctuary forest – a place he would often retreat to on weekends to spend time in quiet reflection as well as working to develop the area.

Martin was known to be generous of spirit, hard-working, and dedicated to the people and projects that he had committed to. Along with his wife Shivakala, he contributed to the lives of many, taking responsibility to support and guide youngsters from the local area through college, providing for them a safe and secure home to grow up in.

Martin’s body was cremated on May 2nd at Auroville Burial and Cremation Ground.

M. Velmurugan son of Madhusudan left his body on May 13th. He was 53 years old.

Velmurugan along with his parents have been part of Auroville from its inception. He and his family lived shortly at Djaima community, Lakshmipuram, and he worked as an accountant at the Auroville Unity fund. In 1996 he moved to Promesse, got involved in farming, and was its caretaker for the last 25 years.

His remains were buried on May 14th at the Auroville Burial and Cremation Ground.

On June 1st Tia Pleiman, an Auroville resident hailing from America, passed away in her home in Surya Nivas in Auroville. She had been working as an art therapist with Maatram. In accordance with her wishes, her remains were cremated the same day at the Auroville Burial and Cremation Grounds.

On June 2nd, Mahalingam, the husband of Mayavathi and father of Saravana and Gopi, passed away. Mahalihgam was one of the early Tamil people to join Auroville in 1975. He then worked at the Auroville weather station. For some years he left Auroville and worked as a postmaster in the Auroville post office. He later became a land surveyor and worked for Vanur Taluk. He re-joined Auroville as Returning Aurovilian in 2005 and worked for the Land Board till 2010, assisting in acquiring various encroached lands and correcting land records. On June 2nd his body was buried at the Auroville Burial and Cremation Grounds.

Krishna was born in 1969 in Kuilaypalayam village. He soon came to live in New Creation Boarding. Being an enthusiastic and active young chap open to learning many things, he rapidly got involved in community life. He first joined Aureka and worked with Sylvio. Then André Tardeil gave him an old Ambassador car to drive people around in Auroville. This seeded an interesting idea: to start a transport service for the community. It was the birth of New Creation Transport Service which he started together with André and Mani.

It was a demanding job. Krishna worked day and night to offer this important service. In 2007 he left New Creation Transport Service and started Unity Transport Service. But his hard work took a toll on his frail health: in March 2022, he suffered a stroke and was bedridden for almost two years, being taken care of by his wife and daughters. He passed away on May 29th. His body was buried the same day at the Auroville Burial Ground.