Auroville - a city of a planetary scale
The great and mysterious country of India. The history of the peoples of this country dates back many millennia, and many travelers come here just to touch the evidence of the history of all mankind.
However, the history of this richest state did not remain in the past like the civilizations of the ancient Indians or the Egyptian monarchies.
Almost today, a new history of India is being created. An example of this is the city of Auroville. The city appeared only in 1968, and its name can be translated as "City of Dawn". This city is located in the state of Tamil Nadu, not far from the small town of Puducherry.
According to Alfassa Mirra, the founder of the city, who later received the name of Mother, the city should be in the service of Truth without regard to any social, political or religious beliefs.
The spiritual center of Auroville is Matrimandir. Matrimandir is a structure that has a shape that vaguely resembles a salagram (a kind of petrified ammonite. Such stones, found in the Kali Gandaki River (Nepal), are revered in India and Nepal). This structure, 36 meters in diameter, is covered with round concave and convex discs, which are gilded. Inside the Matrimandir there is a hall, in the center of which is the world's largest single crystal in the form of a ball (made in Germany by special order and included in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest single crystal). With the help of a system of mirrors from a hole located at the top of the structure, sunlight is supplied to the crystal. Thanks to this, from dawn to dusk, the crystal emits a soft, even, pleasant light. The building itself is intended for meditation, the unity of man with nature, yoga and the connection of the spiritual principle with cosmic energy.
I will not further bore the reader with many interesting and curious facts about the founder of the city and Matrimandir himself, I will only say that it was simply impossible not to visit this place while in India. From the parking lot, you need to walk a fairly decent distance (at least it seemed to us, given the hot weather at the end of March) to get to the place where you can see the Matrimandir in all its glory. Before seeing the Matrimandir live, you can look at its model, presented in a small exhibition hall near the car park.
Fortunately for us, most of this walking path passes through the forest, where there is a saving shadow. Moreover, such outlandish trees grow there, which, like nature itself, are intended to create shade for travelers. Those. a tree is like a tree, but it has a peculiarity. Each branch of a tree has several trunks, or you can say the opposite - several trunks have common branches. Thus, a canopy of branches is formed, where you can rest on a bench (at the same time think about the eternal... ). On the way there is a small pond overgrown with beautiful lilies, which, although it does not create coolness, but psychologically supports : )
While we got to Matrimandir, we met several local residents, who here represent a collection of all nations and nationalities. But especially I note for myself the women of India. For the vast majority of them, saris are their daily wear. And it's very beautiful! All their clothes are bright, colorful and at the same time made with great taste!
