arrived here on the 27th of november after 2 nights flying.  spent the day at heathrow in london where folks  had told me i could find a meditation room, a place to sleep and showers.

i arrived in delhi and went to a place near the railroad station.  the beginning of my india experience.  there were no windows in the hotel.  there was a lot of ventilation which meant noise really traveled.  outside there were markets, which were interesting.  there was trash everywhere and the smell of tires burning.  the last time i came others had remarked about this but somehow it did not affect me.  this time it did.  by the second day i felt i had to get out of delhi or loose my soul.  dramatic maybe and it felt real.

i went to many travel agents and they all told me i could not get on a train.  i persevered and the next place got me on a train the same day.  the price to chennai (the english madras) was 32.00.  it took 2 nights and one day to get there.  i was on a 3rd class sleeper which is the way most of india travels for 32.00.  it was another indian experience.  the accommodations were meant for 9 people in my compartment, but somehow there were more like 15.  there was a family atmosphere, people taking me under their wing, showing me how to buy food and telling me what was in it. 

i found a person at the place i ate breakfast near the bus station that knew how to get to auroville, so that part was easy.

i got to auroville about noon on sunday.  it is an island in the storm so to speak.  founded under sri aurobindo’s vision to form an international community where no one culture dominated, my first impression was of beauty and cleanliness, so missing up until then in my india experience.  it is 20 kilometers in all directions.

the biggest thing to me is that this area was a total desert 45 years ago when it was founded.  it is now covered with graceful trees everywhere.  this was done by putting in berms to stop the water running off turning desert into a supportive environment, a lot of ponds as they say to bring up the water table.   the folks at sadhana forest evidently engineered the transformation.
the sadhana forest folk have a place outside of the current auroville area where they continue their reforestation projects.  they are making new inroads into sustainability, living in ways that allow coolness in the heat (thatched huts for which their is a history here), a lot of rocket stoves for cooking.  they do not grow their own food, a strange version of sustainability to me.  i hear this is in their plans.  for me the idea of combining the forest trees with fruit and berries (agroforestry or food forests) is so important.