AUROVILLE – A down-to-earth utopia

Auroville in Tamil Nadu, Southern India is an experimental township based on spiritual principles and ideals of wholeness. 

Auroville was inaugurated in 1968 with the participation of the United Nations and the Indian Government. Back then, young people from 124 Nations brought a handful of earth from their homelands to symbolize the dream of Human Unity.

Approximately 3218 people from 59 nations lived and worked there when i visited first in 1996 for a longer period of time.

I had the blessed opportunity to do a photo project and exhibition about the children who have been growing up and living in this extraordinary place. Unfortunately most of the analog photos from that exhibition got lost. Here are just a few that survived.

Since this is a community like no other i know – based on the principals of the philosophy of Unity and Integral Yoga of Sri Aurobindo – those children grow up in a radical different environment than children usually experience.

Various kindergardens and schools range from highly experimental “Last School” and  “No School” to  Freinet and Montessori based education to more structured approaches with a western curriculum.

The kids also freely intermingle with native Tamil kids of the villages that surround Auroville. 

Because i had to get to know the kids and gain their trust before taking photos, i had the chance to spend a lot of time with them. 

Quite interesting times.

Lots of fun.