Unity Pavilion

A year ago, architect David Nightingale talked about how Spiral Dynamics could provide one way of understanding the present situation in Auroville.

The Auroville Visitors Centre is Auroville’s reception and information disseminating centre for the often thousands of tourists and visitors coming to Auroville daily.

The Unity Pavilion and Shaktikumbh 2024 organising team are inviting the community to participate in what they describe as “a unique nine day spiritual and experiential immersion based on the philosophical significance of numbers in an integrated Indian context” between 21—29 February in the Unity Pavilion.

On 2nd November 2023, the AVFO Working Committee held a closed meeting at Unity Pavilion. The invitation, sent only to selected “friends”, explained “in the recent months, people have become confused by some of the stories and fears that have been spread … we want to take the opportunity to hear your views and questions and try to answer them as best we can.”

In 1993 Lyndi Fourie, aged 23, died in the Heidelberg Tavern Massacre in Cape Town, South Africa. Thirty years later, Lyndi’s mother, Ginn Fourie, and the man who gave the orders that resulted in Lyndi’s tragic death, Letlapa Mphahlele, sit together as they lead a workshop titled Equity Matters at Auroville’s Pavilion of Tibetan Culture.

On May 23rd, Jules Arindam passed away at the age of 50 in JIPMER hospital where he had been taken some days earlier. Jules was born in Pondicherry in 1972 to Dawn (daughter of Dietra) and AuroArindam, who was one of the initiative takers of Auroville International.

On 26th February, there was an informal community gathering with the South African activist and former minister, Jay Naidoo, in the Unity Pavilion.

On 16th February, the Unity Pavilion was full. There was huge interest because it was the first time in the last seven years that residents had met in an open meeting with an International Advisory Council (IAC).

Auroville International, the umbrella organisation of the Auroville International centres in Europe and the USA, had its General Assembly meeting on February 21st, 2023, at the Unity Pavilion in Auroville.

In honour of the 150th birth anniversary of Sri Aurobindo, the Science and Spirituality conference took place in the Unity Pavilion between 13-15th February.

On November 3rd, Dr. Ananda Reddy released his new book Sri Aurobindo: The Grand Synthesis at a function in Unity Pavilion in the presence of the Vice Chancellor of the Pondicherry University Prof.

On 21st November residents were invited to the Unity Pavilion to see a video presentation by Raghu Ananthanarayanan, who had been invited by the GB and IAC to “foster a dialogue that will hopefully help address some of the core issues dividing the community, a dialogue that an outside, neutral voice can best foster”.

The seventh Art for Land exhibition was inaugurated in the Unity Pavilion on 7th August by the Secretary, Dr Jayanti Ravi. This edition moved from its usual February slot to August due to the corona wave and to coincide with the 150th Sri Aurobindo birth year celebrations.

The sixth annual edition of the Art for Land exhibition opened on 31st January at the Unity Pavilion. The entire month of 'art with heart' included concerts, performances, talks and other events such as the Generosity Fair.

The selection of new members of four main working groups (the Working Committee, the Auroville Council, the Entry Board and the Funds and Assets Management Committee) took place on January 21st and 22nd in accordance with a selection process that had been approved by the Residents’ Assembly in December 2020.

Auroville City Conversations is the online discussion forum of the exhibition The City The Earth Needs, which has been in the Unity Pavilion since February.

On 20th January, the eminent quantum physicist, Dr. Goswami, made a presentation of his work at a packed Unity Pavilion. Dr. Goswami is a pioneer of the new paradigm of science called “science within consciousness,” which demonstrates how science and spirituality can be integrated.

The 2020 fifth Art for Land exhibition and fundraisers has started with an extraordinary varied programme and offerings. Thirty-one (and counting) events are part of this bounty with a plethora of art pieces for sale.

Auroville is under attack, both from the outside and the inside. It started in February 2019 with the publication of the book Auroville – A Dream Hijacked, authored by Dr.

On the 24th of August 2019, simultaneous concentrations for peace in the world happened around Auroville’s Peace Table in the Unity Pavilion and simultaneously around Peace Tables in Moscow and New York.

I am now 28, born and brought up as a third generation in Auroville. My grandparents are of Indian (Kuilaypalayam) and European (Dutch/German) background... my grandparents having worked for Auroville at its very start.

As part of the ‘Art for Land’ initiative, for the past month there has been an exhibition in Unity Pavilion showcasing the work of two artists, Aurovilian Kratu and the late Usha Patel of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram.

Beginning in 2014, Aurovilians began to envision and plan for the big celebrations. Here is how they did it.

Written by Mona Doctor-Pingel, with additional essays by Chamanlal Gupta, Pino Marchese and Poppo Pingel, the book presents the work of two pioneer architects who, along with other architectural ‘forecomers’ like Roger Anger and Poppo Pingel, have left an indelible mark upon the fabric of the community.

“The procurement of land for Auroville is the most urgent priority in order to ensure the future of the project in its original spirit,” says Sauro Mezzetti, member of the Working Committee and former overall coordinator of L’Avenir d’Auroville.

The third edition of ‘Art for Land’, in which artists donate work to raise money to acquire land for Auroville, was inaugurated on 1st January at the Unity Pavilion.

On June 6th, Tekeste B.G. Kidan Zerhanes left his body in his apartment in Courage. He was 79. Tekeste, who in the late sixties came from Ethiopia to Ashram and Auroville and to whom Mother gave the adesh to “spread the light to Africa”, always kept the Mother’s words and love as the guiding principle of his life.

For three days in January, 50 advanced therapists from all over India met in Auroville’s Unity Pavilion with teacher Yuvraj Kapadia to refine their practice of “transformational regression therapy”.

Throughout February, the walls and spaces of the Unity Pavilion were filled with over 300 artworks donated by over 70 artists from Auroville and around the world.

Aurovilians, guests, volunteers and children of all ages enjoyed three days of the Auroville Farm Festival held 21-22 January. The first day was a celebration on the plot of the upcoming Foodlink site near the Certitude corner and included games and activities for children.

Two and a half years ago, Ireno Guerci presented a photo exhibition in the Unity Pavilion on ‘Matrimandir and the Park of Unity’. The photos were a selection from the many thousand photos that he has taken over the past 30 years of a place that is very close to his heart.

Recently, Auroville residents were invited to participate in a new series of the Evolutionary Café which take place every two weeks in the Unity Pavilion.

Auroville’s Hall of Peace, the home of the Peace Table for Asia, was inaugurated on February 11th, 2014.

The Unity Pavilion recently hosted a new photographic exhibition by Ireno entitled ‘Water Being’. The exhibition, which was partly funded by Stichting de Zaaier, displayed work from an ongoing project to document aquatic-bodywork at Quiet Healing Centre.