The City Of
Dawn
Destination: Auroville
Location: 12km north of Pondicherry,
Tamil Nadu.
Purpose: To study the architecture of
the city and participate in various workshops.
Experience: Unforgettable. Here’s why;
Every year, my college organizes an
educational trip to Auroville for 3rd year students, to study and
learn from the architecture of the city which is unique in a way of its own. The
trip was in the end of December 2011, which meant we would be celebrating New
Years there. I was thrilled, and certain that it would be my most memorable New
Year. It definitely was, but not for the reasons I had anticipated. You see, we
had an unexpected gatecrasher: meet Cyclone Thane.
We reached Chennai early morning on 29th
December, by The Chennai Mail. Auroville( City Of Dawn) is a township composed of a cluster of
properties some 12km north of Pondicherry and 135 km north of Chennai. It was
founded in 1968 by Mirra Alfassa, also known as The Mother, and designed by
French architect Roger Anger. Mira Alfassa intended Auroville to be a universal town where men and women of all
countries are able to live in peace and progressive harmony, above all creeds.
The main purpose of the city is to realize human unity.
Since we arrived in Chennai
at 6am, we were witness to the striking golden sunrise over the Bay of Bengal
as we drove along the ECR (East Coast Road) which has the Bay of Bengal on one
side. Lying along the Bay of Bengal is Marina beach, the longest beach in
Chennai and the second longest beach in the world. It is usually a crowded
beach, but early morning it was devoid of people and delightfully calm and
serene. The incredible drive made our sleepy eyes open wide and we ogled at the
spectacular sight on the horizon, heads poking out of the bus on one side.
We stayed at ‘Youth Camp,’ a
small albeit beautiful guest house especially created to encourage independent
living and build character. On day 1 we visited the Auroville Visitors Centre
which has won the Hassan Fathy award for sustainable green architecture. Built
with earth bricks, the centre is a pleasant place for the use of visitors and
Aurovilians alike.The core function of the centre is to inform the visitors
about the spiritual aim of Auroville. This is done with exhibitions and short
documentaries. The centre also houses boutiques and handicraft shops for the
eager shopaholics, galleries and bookshops, and a cafeteria which serves lip
smacking food. It was raining when we were there, and what started out as a
light drizzle gradually turned into a heavy downpour.
AN UNEXPECTED TURN OF EVENTS
I ran into an aunt who lives in Chennai at the
centre, and asked her about the unusual weather. ‘Haven’t you heard?” she asked
me. ‘There is a cyclone approaching.’ I was dumbfounded, but not disheartened.
We headed to Pondicherry for our heritage walk. A guide walked us through the
White Town, which consisted of pretty French architecture, and the Black Town,
which were traditional south Indian houses.
Recently renamed as Puducherry,
Pondicherry is a small town tucked away on the eastern seaboard of India. Among
its diverse attractions are palm-fringed beaches, backwaters, beach resorts,
Sri Aurobindo Ashram and the French Boulevard. With some great food and some
fine wine, this town is a great place to put your feet up and relax. But it was
not so for us. As we sat in the balcony of Hotel Ajanta on the Promenade beach
after our sightseeing, cyclone Thane announced its arrival.
IN THE EYE OF THE STORM
Darkness approached and the
sky rumbled angrily and shot down daggers of lighting. The rain came down in
sheets and the sea surged upwards in enormous waves to meet it, making sea and
sky seem like one. Back in our rooms in the Youth Camp, we tried hard to sleep
as the rain hammered down on the roof above us and the wind howled and wailed
around us. At around 3am the intensity of the winds increased, we heard trees
crashing down and it felt like our room would get blown away, as it was on the terrace.
We knew then that we were in the eye of the cyclone. The storm eventually died
down after an hour or two, but we did not get any sleep that night.
THE DAY AFTER
When we finally came out of
our rooms the next morning, an astonishing sight met our eyes. There was
destruction all around us; Trees had been uprooted, electrical poles had fallen
and most of the roads in auroville had got blocked. Shops were closed. Electricity
was out. The wind had reduced but it continued to rain heavily. With all our
plans washed out, we were stuck at the Youth Camp the entire day.
HAPPY NEW YEAR?
The next day was December 31st,
New Years Eve. We went to Pondicherry on rented bikes that night in the hopes
of celebrating, but the parties were either full or too expensive. The locals
were drunk enough to make it unsafe for girls to be riding around on bikes, and
we ended up back at the Youth Camp, making our way towards the common bathrooms
with torches at the stroke of midnight. A Happy New Year? Definitely not, not
for us or for the people of Tamil Nadu who had to face serious damage and a few
casualties on account of natures wrath. We did do some of the things that we
had gone there for; we visited Matrimandir, a stunning architectural
achievement, the matrimandir is a meditation space shaped like a huge golf
ball, coated with gold plates and located in the heart of auroville. We also
attended earth brick workshops and visited New Era School. Simply but
efficiently designed by Roger Anger, the school has an exceptional architecture
worth seeing. But what I’m proud of most is how we lent a helping hand to the
locals after the cyclone. Trees had fallen across the road, blocking the way
for everybody and we helped them to clear the path. We were thirty of us and
our help made a big difference. The locals and foreigners who had settled there
were extremely kind, offering us refreshments as we cut, chopped and dragged
trees off the road. They thanked us profusely after we were done, and a lady
came to our Youth Camp the next day to thank us yet again. A small act of
kindness goes a long way.
IS SOMEBODY OUT THERE?
Our educational trip had
turned into a reality show of survival of the fittest. We had no water, minimum
food supply and no electricity at all. We cooked our own food and washed our
utensils after every meal, we could take a shower only when there was water
available, and it this was sometimes at night so we had to take a shower using
only the light from our torches. Our cell phones were dead, so we had no
contact with our families back home. As if this wasn’t enough, every night we
heard distinct footsteps all around us. Flashing our torches in the direction
of the noise revealed nobody. This happened every night, and though it was
extremely mystifying, we were not scared. I think we believed it was the spirit
of The Mother, keeping a watch over us.
THE ICING ON THE CAKE
We were having a hard enough
time coping up with the after effects of the cyclone, but there was more in
store for us. We had just managed to sleep at 5am one night, when we were
shaken awake by our friends. An earthquake warning had been announced. We had
to clear out of our rooms with minimum valuables and assemble in the basketball
field behind the Camp. Not entirely sure of what was happening; I grabbed my
bag and ran out of the room with my friends. By 6am, thirty of us had gathered
on the basketball field, patiently waiting for the earthquake to make its
appearance. After a cyclone and mysterious sounds, nothing surprised us anymore.
We made sure nobody contacted their families back home, we dint want to worry
them further. After an hour of waiting, we filed back into our rooms. We learnt later that there had been severe
tremors in other parts of India, but thankfully, Mother Nature had decided to
spare us this time.
We returned home with many
memories, and to this day I’m not afraid of using the bathroom in the dark, and
under any circumstances. I also definitely believe in friendly spirits. Also,
it came to our knowledge how brutal cyclone Thane had been and how much damage
to life and property it had caused. We feel deeply sorry for the people of
Tamil Nadu and hope they will never have to deal with such a calamity again.
Turns out it was my most
memorable new year, and if you visit auroville I hope you have an equally
unforgettable holiday, but certainly not for the same reasons!
