The 40th foundation day of Auroville includes a pre-dawn bonfire

SOUTHERN NEWS - TAMIL NADU Feb 27, 2008
Auroville celebrating 40th foundation day on Feb 28 ENS PUDUCHERRY:

Former Director General of UNESCO A.M M'Bow will participate at the 40th foundation day celebration of Auroville on February 28. Auroville, the international township under development on the south-east Indian coast, located 10 kms from Puducherry was inaugurated on Feb 28, 1968 after UNESCO endorsed the concept of Auroville, put forth before the General Assembly of UNESCO by the Indian government. Youths representing 124 nations and all Indian states came together to inauguarate the township and receive its charter, which states that Auroville belongs to nobody in particular but to humanity as a whole.

Addressing a press conference, a panel of Aurovillians said that at present, around 2000 people from 40 nations live in Auroville that has been planned to accommodate 50,000 people, as one race and one shared earth. The largest community is Indian, followed by French, German and others. The township is based on the vision of Sri Aurobindo, the renowned Yogi and philosopher, and his spiritual collaborator known as Mother. The Aurovillians are engaged in diverse activities and are all volunteers who receive a monthly basic maintenence of Rs 5000 to help sustain themselves or pay for themselves partly or entirely out of their own resources. In 1988, the project was given special status by the Government of India, when Auroville Foundation was created by an Act of Parliament.

The 40th foundation day of Auroville includes a pre-dawn bonfire, symposium on human unity, presentation on the township and its activities, exhibitions and an evening of cultural programmes. Sri Aurobindo's statue which has been installed for the first time in Savitri Bhavan would be open for floral tribute and meditation.