Just left Auroville yesterday. I spent a total of two weeks just relaxing and working on an organic farm there. My weekdays consisted of getting up at six o'clock, starting work at 6:15 then weeding or planting or mulching various plants until 9 am, then it was breakfast. We were served a different rice dish every morning...usually either curd rice or dal rice. From there the rest of the day was free. I was living in a "capsule" with my friend Sahil. The accommodation was very basic. It was a little cabin on stilts, made of bamboo and such. No electricity, and the restrooms consisted of squat toilets and bucket showers. This may not sound tempting, but the atmosphere and cleanliness of the place was excellent. I could have stayed there longer. Met some really nice people and basically just chilled out for two weeks.
Auroville's really spaced out, so we soon realized that the rickety bikes we rented weren't going to be a good way to get around for two weeks...especially at night without a headlight, so we rented a moped. Auroville is more of a village than anything. It's full of spiritually minded westerners who want to live "free of politics". There is no voting in Auroville, so what they do is appoint a selections committee to choose the next governor or whatever the term for it is they use...only problem is how you select the selections committee without voting. They decided that going door to door and getting people to select via petition was a good way of doing it...one that would follow the wishes of "THE MOTHER". Did I mention that I think something very sinister is going on behind closed doors in this town? THE MOTHER is the deceased founder of Auroville. Her picture is everywhere. It's creepy. Also, in the center of town is "Matrimundeer" which is a giant golden golf ball. Inside the golf ball is the world's largest crystal which sends rays of light cascading from the ceiling across the walls of the completely white "inner chamber". In order to get into the golf ball you have to first go through various people who send you in circles back and forth for a while. Actually before that you need to be upgraded from visitor status to guest status. In order to do that, you have to be staying in Auroville for a certain period of time...I think. So you need a guest card. Then when you finally present your guest card to the right people and tell them that you want to visit the golf ball (did I mention that I think the golf ball is their spaceship?) you have to make an appointment for the next day. You do so by calling them and booking. You can only visit during the designated 2 hours a day...I think it was two hours...so many details. If you don't do this, then you can present your guest card at the gate during two designated periods each day, and you can get within around 60 meters of the golf ball. But you MUST stay behind the rope. So, yeah...needless to say Sahil and I lacked the necessary organization skills to get into the "inner chamber", so we had to stay behind the rope. We contemplated running towards the ball, but then figured that some spaceships are best to remain mysteries.
Mopeds played a large part of the two weeks. We had a total of 5 flat tires, 2 runnings out of gas, 2 cases of headlight going outings, 1 lost gas tank lid and one case of stick droppings into the gas tank...my bad...just wanted to avoid another runnings out of gas.
The most entertaining of these issues was probably one of the times our headlight went out. I was driving us to a techno party in the forest somewhere. We had to follow the sound of the music to find our way, which proved to be a challenge as we had to drive through narrow and winding forest paths to get there. Our headlamp went out right in the middle of this. I had to drive the moped through the forest at night with the aid of two very weak flashlights which Sahli shined over my shoulders. Every now and again, a strategically placed candle, set in place by the party organizers would guide us. After the party, we had to do the whole thing in reverse, plus find our way back to the farm...keep in mind that there are no streetlights in Auroville either...probably another one of THE MOTHER's wonderful ideas.
Another interesting moped ride was when we drove to Pondicherry (spelled Puducheri...I think) to get Sahil to a bar to watch the cricket match. Driving in big cities here is absolute chaos. Whereas in western society, the horn is used as a warning, or release of aggression, in India (as well as Nepal) it's used to denote your position on the road...this means that everyone honks all the time. Also, traffic rules seem to be ignored in place of the rules of chaos theory. People will swerve into oncoming traffic in order to pass people in front of them. Their only defense against seemingly certain death is the ever sounding horn. So, when in Rome...I was laying on the horn the entire way. Also, we didn't know where we were going, and didn't have a map, so it was an interesting trip. Ended up paying a rickshaw driver ten rupee to show us the way.
The people we met in Auroville made it really special as well. I don't think I've been in a place that's as chilled out as Auroville. When we first arrived, Sahil and I didn't know how to take it, but soon found ourselves sucked into it, and gradually becoming one with the chillness.
Anyway, good times all in all. We also went to the beach and ate lots of cheap cake.