All posts filed under: Tamil Nadu

auroville, auroville trip

A Slow Travel Guide to Auroville.

There’s more to Auroville than Matrimandir and Auro Beach. Upon visiting Auroville and staying for a month, I discovered some meaningful ways to experience the township and its essence. This is my Auroville guide. Updated 2020. Back in 2011, when I quit my corporate job to follow my dream to travel the world, I didn’t imagine I would one day land up in a place dedicated to the same ideology. Welcome to the Auroville township – and my Auroville guide to experience it meaningfully! A place where people come to live their dreams. I’ve come across countless stories. A market researcher turned organic farmer. A policeman turned village school headmaster. A corporate honcho turned teacher. A teacher turned mechanic. This is a place to ditch the life you’ve lived, and live the life you’ve always wanted, even if for a few days. Here your conviction to follow your passion holds more value than your salary or title. Also read: Try These Cafes and Restaurants in Auroville for Divine Food! Auroville Guide Visiting Auroville on a …

Auroville: Utopia or Something Like It.

I’m not oblivious to the contradictions in the “Auroville utopia”. But where else in India can you live with values of sustainability and no judgement? I lie across a ledge on the open terrace of Auroville’s Solar Kitchen. Inspiring my words are the soothing melodies of an aged man’s flute. His music attracts chirping birds to the lotus pond below, from their hiding spaces in the surrounding forest. I feel a sense of déjà vu, like I’ve seen this place before, maybe in a story I once read. I come here on some evenings to read Thoreau in the fading light of dusk. And he to play his flute. We haven’t felt the need to exchange words yet. This is Auroville: a bit like entering a dream, a bit like waking up from one. Also read: A Guide to Auroville: Slow Life, Volunteering and Organic Food As the sun sets, the night slowly engulfs the shimmering solar bowl. On sunny days, this is literally the food bowl of Auroville. Solar Kitchen below serves organic food …