City of Dawn, Auroville, Tamilnadu

 Auroville, near Pondicherry, is a unique experimental township founded in 1968 by The Mother( Mirra Alfassa) based on the vision of her guru Sri Aurobindo. It is a unique international cultural community focused on realizing human unity in diversity and transforming consciousness. The city, designed by Roger Anger a French architect, is organized into four zones (Residential, Cultural, International, and Industrial) with the Matrimandir at the centre. 

During our recent trip to Pondicherry we took a guided tour within the sprawling 4500 acre Auroville. The tour highlighted the diverse aspects, including its residential communities, cultural and educational centers, and industrial units. The township is focused on sustainable practices - having an independent internet station, waste to fertilizer units, solar towers, water tanks using rainwater and borewells, farms, bakery and dairy farm for their daily use and even a brick manufacturing unit used for their constructions.

A residential house 

The Residential Zone is designed for living, rejuvenation, and fostering community life. It features various residential communities with apartments and individual houses. This zone is home to around 4,000 permanent residents from 59 countries as of today. The interesting fact is there's no cash transaction within and each resident is given an aura card loaded with an equal amount to be spent monthly. The buildings utilize locally made bricks and have incorporated solar panels.

Solar kitchen 

Essential services like the Solar Kitchen- a community kitchen which serves lunch, Pour Tous Distribution - a distribution unit which supplies food products and ready to eat meals on pay what you can basis, the Santé Institute - a healthcare center, Mahalakshmi Senior's Home, and the main library are located here for the benifit of the residents.

Healthcare center 

Cultural Zone: includes educational institutions like Future School- high school with IB curriculum, Transition School - primary & middle school, the Youth Center and Sports grounds. This zone also features the well known Kalabhumi music studio which is a music rehearsal space with amphitheatre and has an array of instruments where Aurovillians practice, teach and collaborate.

Products of Auroville

The key buildings in Auroville's International Zone are Bharat Nivas, Savitri Bhavan, and the Unity Pavilion, which are all important centers for cultural exchange, education, and events.  Bharat Nivas houses the Kalakendra Art Exhibition Hall and Sri Aurobindo Auditorium, while Savitri Bhavan - serves as a hub for studying Sri Aurobindo's teachings. The Unity Pavilion is notable for its Peace tables where meditation to inculcate the  importance of peace is conducted around this table on a weekly basis.

The Industrial Zone includes the Auroville Earth Institute - an organisation promoting earth technology for low cost, low energy buildings. The Center for Scientific Research (CSR)- an international voluntary organisation working towards renewable energy and a number of small-scale manufacturing units such as Shraddhanjali, which manufactures artistic utility items, and Colours of Nature – a natural fabric dyeing unit. 

Spirulina production unit

Our tour guide halted at the spirulina production unit where the volunteers served a refreshing drink of its paste and highlighted the importance of this superfood. 

The drink served 

The one-hour tour in the minivan was brief to absorb the expanse of this self sustaining land but the insight into Mother's futuristic vision left us awe-inspiring.

Senior's home

Distribution unit

Note - Auroville township has received endorsements from UNESCO through resolutions passed in 1966, 1968, 1970, and 1983. Since 1980, the Ministry of Education oversees the township, which is governed by the Auroville Foundation Act of 1988 passed by the Indian Parliament. This act formalized the foundation's structure and aims to facilitate Auroville's development in accordance with its founding charter. 

Mysuru Palace, Karnataka

The Mysuru Palace is a symbol of the resilience of Mysuru's people and it's rulers. This monument, has faced numerous challenges throughout its history. The current structure, is the fourth palace on the site, built as recent as 1912, after a fire that razed it in 1897.

Its origins trace back to the 14th century. The Wodeyar family built it as a wooden fortress and later expanded it in1638.  Following political instability  in 1704, the palace fell into neglect and in 1793, Tipu Sultan demolished it.

After the death of Tipu Sultan in 1799, the crowned young prince, Krishnaraja Wodeyar III,  commissioned a new palace in 1803. This was later destroyed by fire during the princess's wedding in 1897. Queen Regent Kempananjammanni Vanivilasa Sanndihana hired a British architect Henry Irwin to design a new palace, which was completed in 1912, at a cost of Rs. 41,47,913 which we see today 

Mysuru Palace, is an example of Indo-Saracenic architecture. It honors the legacy of Mysuru and the Wodeyars, similar to the significant Mughal and colonial buildings of yesteryears. 

This three-storied palace features square towers with domes, an ornate Durbar Hall, and a Kalyana Mandapam with stained glass ceiling. 

Notable treasures include intricately carved doors, a golden howdah, and a jewel-encrusted throne which are displayed only during Dasara. The palace complex also houses a Residential Museum, temples, and shrines. During normal visiting days most of the exhibits are closed.

The main attraction of the palace is however the illumination with 97,000 electric bulbs. This stunning view can be glimpsed for few minutes after the light and sound show, public holidays, and for a longer duration, during Dasara celebrations. 

The entry to this palace is as - Adults - 120/, children -70/, foreign nationals -1000/

The palace is open all days from 10.00am to 5.30pm 

Shravanabelagola, Karnataka

 

Shravanabelagola, is located about 150 km from Bangalore, Karnataka and has  been a significant center for Jain art, architecture, religion, and culture for over two thousand years. The town became prominent when Bhagawan Bhadrabahu, a key Jain Acharya, arrived from Ujjain with his disciples. Influenced by him, emperor Chandragupta Maurya settled in this area and passed his kingdom to his son to rule.

A notable landmark in Shravanabelagola is the 18-meter tall monolithic statue of Lord Gomateshwara, a revered Jain saint. It is situated atop Vidyangiri hill and is recognized as one of the tallest and most graceful monolithic statues in the world.   The statue is carved out of a single piece of granite and stands at 57 feet. It is regarded as one of the largest free-standing statues in the world. It symbolizes the Jains ideolgy of peace, non-violence, and renunciation. 

History of Lord Gomateshwara (Bahubali) 

Bahubali, the son of the first Jain Teerthankara, Lord Adinatha, fought his brother Bharatha for the throne in a duel that tested various skills. Although he won, Bahubali was disillusioned by the pursuit of material wealth and chose to renounce his kingdom and worldly pleasures. He entered in a deep meditation, embodying spiritual tranquility.  Bahubali meditated motionlessly in a standing position for a year, during which plants grew along his legs. After this period, he attained Kevala Gyana and became a respected figure among the Jain community.

In 981 AD, Chavundaraya, the prime minister of the Ganga Kingdom, commissioned a statue of Bahubali in this meditative pose. 

Nearby on Chandragiri, houses memorials and basadis of various other Jaina sramanas or monks who meditated and lived here, including the last Rashtrakuta king, Manyakheta.

Mahamastakabhisheka is a significant event held every twelve years at Shravanabelagola, where the statue of Bahubali is anointed with various substances, including water, turmeric, and gold flowers. This event draws thousands of tourists and pilgrims, with the next celebration planned for 2030.