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In her 1965 sketch
of Auroville, the Mother laid down the basic concept for the
town. This sketch delineated all the important activity areas
that would fulfill the vision of making it a universal township.
The concept was as much practical as it was visionary and
the way in which it is fitting in with today's international,
national and local way of seeing things is quite striking.
In this conversation Mother speaks about
this as a first concept and indicates that she has no illusions
that the original purity of the idea will be kept. Much has
changed since then. As the land for the construction of Bharat
Nivas, the Pavilion of India, could not be bought, Mother
approved of the shifting of the zones.
The international zone was relocated towards the west, the
residential zone to the south, the cultural zone to the east
and the industrial zone moved to the north. Mother also approved
the creation of the Auromodèle and Aspiration communities
near the village of Kuilapalayam. Around them other communities
came into existence. They not only became residential areas,
but also came to house small handicrafts units. Thus, a kind
of double city gradually developed. One part, located around
Kuilapalayam, is now separated from the main city by a large
area of village owned land. Some units that settled around
Kuilapalayam eventually moved to the Industrial Zone, but
many have chosen to stay, a development which has led to two
or even three industrial, or rather, economic zones. (adapted
from AVtoday, September '03)
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