Abstract:
Auroville city conceived in 1968, by the Mother's ( Rachel Mirra Alfassa ) idealistic approach to attain human unity, today seems to be failing its main purpose. The foreign approach of the experimental township has alienated the natives of Tamil Nadu. It has achieved a population of 2500 people in 48 years as opposed to the expected population of 50,000 inhabitants. The failure or the stunted growth could be attributed to various reasons - loss of a guide midway, internal politics, discrepancies in planning and land use, misinterpretation of the Mother's ideas and the Charter, unmanaged tourism, cultural capital, increased crime rates, European schooling systems or all. The differential rate of development has led the defensive city to form a closed uninviting loop and secure all land within it.
Kottakarai is the only originally existing settlement that lies within the planned boundaries of Auroville which makes it the unjust yet crucial interface of tension and constant disputes. It is the least developed village of all the surrounding native settlements due to the restrictive laws of Auroville. The Tamilians have lost their cultural identity and their faith in spirituality. They neither have the means nor the support through which they could reconstruct and bind this settlement together while keeping a healthy relationship with Auroville.
The Mother was guided to spiritual enlightenment by the Indian philosopher, Yogi, Guru, Sri Aurobindo. They worked together for nearly 30 years and shaped the basics of Auroville while Sri Aurobindo also explored his philosophies about Integral Yoga, Integral Education and Ideals of Human Unity among many others.
Introducing a native spiritual entity, Sri Aurobindo to Kottakarai in order to counteract the foreign energy would return the local villagers their sense of identity, restore their faith in spirituality as it humbles Auroville, reminds them of the values they should be following and finally bridge the gap of culture, communication, knowledge and principles between Tamilians and Aurovillians.
