Travelling Auroville

3. Jan. 2017: Last entry

I knew I would be lazy with the blog, and I was right. Well, in 3 weeks I fly home and anyway my focus is on my computer work and I am not really here, in India. Thats alright, I am kind of happy to come home. Things here do not work, sometimes I feel challenged not to feel annoyed. 

And the sun is shining. Even though the next nice beach is so far, that I am not willing to do the journey (15 km here is far and means a serious risk to ones life), I enjoy sun every day.

Life is good. I am in Auroville doing a work that is very align with the values of Auroville. With my computer science I serve the divine consciousness. 

Well yes, and happy new year. (Referring to ~ 21. of Dez, solistice, the solar new year, the real new year!)

 

14.12.2016: Allright and ok

The weeks are passing fast. While I am sitting in front of my computer, doing revolutionary work in the field of linguistics, outside lots of rain is happening. Sometimes the rainy season feels quite strong. But all nothing to what I knew from Nicaragua 1999, and nothing compared to the usual say the locals here. It seems the global rain distribution is changing a huge bit.

Auroville is great but a bit out of my focus right now. I am living here and appreciating my insights. I am not so happy about organic food supply and about beach access. Most people would call that luxury, for me it is becoming something essential. But, working so much is a boring thing for a trevellers blog. Well, at least I did write something and you know I am doing well! 

 

8. Dez. Crazyness

India is crazy. Since weeks the money system shows troubles. ATMs do not work, only give little money or do not accept foreign cards. Some tourists are desperate. Then, some famous minister dies, and suddenly everything (!) closed for 3 days. Well, and Auroville is also crazy. Things go on, that make me medium happy right now. More to that later.

But look at the new extension cable I bought. It came connected the wrong way. Well. India is not working. Thanks to the gods, it somehow works nevertheless. :)

Will write more soon. All the crazyness keeps me busy and also the rains finally came...

 

20. Nov. 2016 Getting ready

The last week I was doing some work for GEN that I promissed to do a month ago. Because of my broken computer and the travels it was delayed. It was the last point on my todo-list before I could focus on EXALOT fully. Wow, it was not easy, it took me three days to restore lost data into a very complex Drupal-system. I was about to give up sometimes, it was kind of symbolic to me. All those years I had to do things I did not feel to do, often it felt so hurtful not to be able to focus on my holy mission. And then, at friday, I finished it. Yuhuu. I was happy, and many others are happy it's done. 

So, now, I am getting ready to fulfill my karma. EXALOT will be presented to Auroville in the best way I can. I already made some good connections. The general mood here is great: Open to new technology, curious and technically savy. In a way it feels like it all comes together, as if the universe wanted everything to be here now, as I am just a servitor for something so much bigger thats about to happen. Well. I keep myself as I keep EXALOT: Small and simple! And I feel this most beautiful of all feelings: Being part of something epic!!

And its work waiting for me. Work on all levels. Finishing the semantic part of the interpretor, creating a nice complete documentation, updating the websites and getting into the legal part of setting up an international nonprofit, putting down the user interface. It's all planned and prepared. I just have to finish it and I feel so ready for it.

In the meanwhile I keep exploring Auroville and meeting nice people. At monday I give myself a therapeutic massage. Here are quite some healers around. I want them to check my body that I need a lot for work and fun. Yes, I am having fun. I am happy, I am smiling. I basically feel very healthy and strong even tough my stomage rebels sometimes, but thats normal in a country like India.

The pictures above show a Yin/Jang mandala in place called Joy community here. And the other shows big Granitophones made at a Auroville unit called Svaram that employs lots of people creating musical instruments. This project was set up and run by an Austrian fellow called Aurelio. Again, a very nice person. I love people doing great things!    

 

 

 

16. Nov. 2016 Progress and Beauty

I am falling in love with Auroville. It has so much to offer. The recent days I was attending a Sanskrit workshop (see the picture) that was taking place in a building called 'Tibetian temple'. The second picture was made from the window of the workshop down into the center of this gorgeous temple. The architecture of many buildings (specially the public and international ones) is really astonishing here in this huge cluster of settlements in this forested area, all together called Auroville.

And not only the buildings but also the people are beautiful. I have felt lot's of authentic spirituality and heart-touching vulnerability among the hundreds of Aurovillians I have met so far. The onces I was talking with all were very welcoming and sharing from their heart. Well, I might be biased, overwhelmed from this huge project that is new to me. New things fascinate easily. It's easy to fall in love into things and people that is new. It's nature that attracts us to what we did not know before. It's curiosity, progress, growth and evolution. AND it is consciousness, concentration and will to keep loving what we know much too well. I have seen Aurovillians loving their ideals (specially Mother and Sri Aurobindos energies) after decades of working hard and getting back 'little'.

And you know what: I feel a Yes to become Newcomer in Auroville. To be willing to join this project, the city that the earth needs. And, this thought is fresh and I have some conditions in mind. I want to be able to keep working on EXALOT mainly. This is how I can serve the Divine Consciousness and Human Unity and also Auroville best.

I am glad I did the Sanskrit workshop, even tough it much to sophisticated for me. Most of the other attendees have studied Sanskrit over years already. But I could listen to the sound of Sanskrit, listen to people discussing the grammar rules by Panini, the descended god of the linguists. And I was able to understand so much better what Sanskrit really is and how it relates to EXALOT. I have written an article about 'What EXA did learn from Sanskrit'.

Today I am busy with my computer helping out a organization. The resent days I was improving some EXALOT resources and working on the EXA language documentation. See the beautiful core of the language. I am very proud of having found this holy snowflake.

I am very glad I decided to come to Auroville so far.

   

 

10. Nov. 2016 Things go well

It feels like a long time I am here already, and, wow, its 2 weeks nearly. Thats quite some piece out of my 12 weeks I got to be in India. I am not sure if I want to travel around or just stay in Auroville. If I go to travel I propably visit Hampi and/or Goa. Maybe I do that around New Year, I will see.

My new computer arrived and is set up. Not so bad for a 300 Euro made in India, but also not really good. I miss my ASUS Zenbook. But I can do waht I have to do with this one. It has a 15 inch display, the biggest I ever had for a laptop.

I am happy here, people and nature treats me well. The animals are so nice and not very afraid of humans it seems. Even the birds come very near sometimes. When I settled at my little house (see pictures below) hundreds of birds came as they would say hello to me.

Well, I have all kind of troubles still. The Internet at my place doesnt work. A SIM Card is not responding. My bicycle needed some repairs and so on. India keeps one busy. And, it's not all cheap here. The European style food is crazy expensive. A tiny can of sardines is about 3 Euro for example.

Al in all, I am doing great and I am looking forward. At Saturday a 5 day workshop about the grammar of Sanskrit starts. I need Sanskrit for EXALOT, at least that is my vision to make it the core language of the library. (Of course direct transaltions to English (and any language) will exist.) So, actually I should do some studies to be prepared for the workshop.

 

 

6. Nov. 2016: Slowly slowly arriving

Wow, India keeps me busy. I had to organize a bicycle, therefor I went to Pondicherry again on this crazy road. The first picture shows a normal traffic situation from the confi seat of a tuk tuk. Now I am proud of my new bike, I think I got a good deal. 50 Euro and I can sell it in three month for about the same price.

I am not perfectly happy with my place where I stay because at night I hear Indian villagers having party and some theft happens sometimes and there is no wifi. But, I can't have everything and my sweet little hut has also upsides to it: During day very silent, lots of private sphere, just the perfect size for me, Jungle feeling, ... And the owner is really nice, I knew her from Ecovillage meetings in the past.

At the moment I am struggeling with getting money out of the cash machines (They wont give me some) and finding mobile internet that works at my place. BSLN, the Indian phone company would not give me a SIM card unless I am registered Aurovillian a.s.o. lots of strange troubles I overcome step by step. Today my new computer comes but I dont have the money to pay, so, lets see what I do about that. 

When I am settled I will update my blog more regularly I hope. Viva India!

   

2. Nov. 2016 I have arrived

The last two days were challenging, I needed to organize a stable good internet, a new computer and a place to stay 3 month. At some point I was about to give up, and then, like a miracle, everything turned out well. Above the solar kitchen in a cafe called 'Terrace' (first picture) the internet is perfect, about 4 MBit download speed, thats better than at home :) It costs a bit, but not much. And the cafe has amazing things to offer, organic and cheap. And some IT people I met trough an Austrian Aurovillian called Otto  helped me to order a new computer, it will arrive in a week. 

Then, only my biggest problem was still there: I needed to find a place to stay until end of January. It is easy to find a place for November, but December the season starts and for January really everything was booked already. 4 days I was riding around with bicycle (second picture) and then with motorbike, visting all guesthouses and private homestays that exist in Auroville. You see at the picture how bad the bicycles are here. My bum did hurt sooo much. Riding motorbike is really dangerous here, soecially for me, because traffic is at the left side (English way) and Indians drive sooo fast, and nobody carries a helmet, they don't even know what helmet means. Once I had to drive to Pondicherry, to get a SIM-Card. I am soooo happy that I survived, there was soooo much traffic, you see it at the third picture, but reality is even worse.

And then, very late yesterday, far out in the woods, I was searching for a place that somebody recommended to me. I was driving and driving and searching around at those little dirt roads around Auroville and I could not find it. I was about to give up, but then some Indian girls helped me and finally I found the place. And guess what: The owner, Ambra, knows me from GEN conferences in Italy and Purtugal. She said, Look, the crazy Austrian. She has a fantastic place for me, just what I was searching for. I am soooo happy now.

With one sentence: I love it here!! 

Great nature, great people, great community, great food, wow, wow. Let's see what comes next.

 

    

31. Oct. 2016 My computer broke

Well, that was the bad news for me. After random crashes and lot's of things I tried to repair I did a BIOS-reset. Since then it would not start any more :(. 

But I have a second small one for emergency and I have the chance to organize a new laptop (hopefully for a reasonable price) today. So, soon I upload my new pintures about this crazy place. I was riding the motorbike all day and I had lots and lots of impressions. I was mainly looking for great places to stay the next 3 month, but it seems the first place I found at Friday already was the best one. I will go there today and negotiate with the owner.     

 

30. Oct. 2016 My first day in Auroville

It started with Papaya. That is my favourite fruit for breakfast. Yes, papaya, and since then the day went on being great. Well, my bum hurts a bit since I was cycling so much around. Yesterday already I tried to find a great place to stay for 3 month, something with silence, safety, internet and basic comfort. I was lucky in the first half hour and found Sonyas place with a few sweet huts to stay. Wow, India is sooo cheap. Today I did not find places that attracted me, but all my visits were interesting.

I have seen some Tamil villages and lots of shrines and temples. The picture shows some saint, seemingly a very cool one :). It's sooo dirty, but there is some fantatsic feeling around. Spirituality feels as natural here as drinking beer in Germany. Something already catched me, I am very happy to have the honor to meet this culture. I feel welcome by lots of smiling faces. Random people stare at me or talk to me or just send me a smile. Something is really different here than in the Western world. Tomorrow I will borrow a motorbike and look around in a wider circle.   

29. Oct. 2016 Arriving in India for my first time

The flight from Vienna to Abu Dhabi was great, spacious, good pre-ordered veggi-food, nice seat neighbors, ... But the flight from Abu Dhabi to Chennai was the worst one I ever had. Luckily only 4 hours, I was squezed in between two Indian workers who fly home once a year from working hard in the oil industries far away from their families. The quite friendly man at the left side tried to speak with me (very broken English plus some physical problem with his toungh), but I could not concentrate on what he said because he did stink soo much. I tried to listen and be friendly, but it made no sense to me. Finally he gave up and started watching a movie. The person right to me became broader and broader turing his sleep, I felt trapped like a skinny boy between to real men who know what real work means.

28. Oct. 2016 Flying to India

This is the first blog entry in my first blog I ever started. Let's see if I can/want keep up with infos about my three month India trip.

Well, I startet in Vienna. It was cold and windy (normal). I made my VISA to enter India. That was kind of tricky, I had to fill in an electronic form first, print it, add a photo exactly 51mm*51mm and appear in person at a consulate called BLS somewhere in the center of Vienna. Funny: the boy at the printshop printed two times 51cm*51cm, ten times too big. I got this posters with my serious face (India requests a serious facial expression) for free. No idea what to do with them until I become famous. :)

My flight had a stop in Abu Dhabi, I had to wait about 4 hours. I was amazed to find first class leather sofas and did hang out quite some time (super confi).  

 

 

 

     

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