Day 14, Mud, Mishaps, and Memories: A Farewell to Auroville

This marks the turning point in the trip where we have been left to fend for ourselves. Ajay has departed and we are on our own. The night before, we’d joked that we had managed to get through the trip without doing anything embarrassing. Cue dramatic music. Oh, how the tables turned.

 

The day kicked off with our usual guesthouse breakfast. Dan and Spencer joined Lalit for a walk at the Matrimandir, while Caley, Chloe, Tara, and Maeve headed to a women’s empowerment workshop hosted by Eco Femme. The workshop was fantastic, made even better by the surprise appearance of a puppy who decided that Caley and Maeve’s laps were the perfect resting spots.

 

Afterward, the girls caught a tuk tuk to La Terrace, a café on top of Solar Kitchen, where they indulged in crepes, pasta, and sandwiches. They made friends with another puppy (though this one we couldn't pet). 

 

Feeling they hadn't quite gotten their steps in for the day, the girls decided to walk from La Terrace to the Town Hall. This was a critical error. While they had bravely tackled the Pathways to Unity presentation, the Pathway to Town Hall was a trap set by the universe itself. It was muddy. It claimed the shoes of both Maeve and Caley — leaving them slipping and sliding like a pair of confused ice skaters in flip-flops. Tara and Chloe, having learned from their mistakes, wisely trudged through the forest, leaving Maeve and Caley to face their fate. The ensuing "walk of shame" — which could only be described as 20 minutes of sheer embarrassment mixed with an oddly spectacular amount of mud — was the funniest and most humiliating experience in Auroville. But fear not, Maeve and Caley emerged victorious, if only because they made it to the Town Hall with their dignity hanging by a thread.

The day continued with the team tying up loose odds and ends, while Maeve and Caley took mandatory showers. More work had to be done to finish the final report, and the team reflected on the questions and comments from the presentation the day before. 

 

The night was a mix of reminiscing about our time in Auroville, eating dinner, and, as always, good times. We’ll miss Maeve’s corner, where profound wisdom (or at least a lot of laughter) was shared. Dan’s work summaries, which were somehow both hilarious and terrifying, will also be deeply missed — as well as Tara giving us impromptu self-defense classes. We’ll also miss Chloe’s French sound effects and Spencer’s positivity and sense of humour. As for me (Caley), I’m pretty sure everyone will miss my morning gossip sessions, where I somehow got involved in all the guesthouse drama. I’m like a magnet for chaos, and it’s been my pleasure to keep everyone in the loop.

 

Our team now moves on from Auroville to explore India for another two weeks. While our posting might be more intermittent, we encourage you to follow along as we continue to explore all that India has to offer! 

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On a more serious note, as we reflect on our two weeks in Auroville, we feel immense privilege to have completed this project course. Our team was lucky enough to participate in focus groups with students and women, conduct interviews with villagers, Aurovilians and business enterprises and observe the complex organism that is Auroville. Some stories were hard to hear while others highlighted that anything is possible with a bit of grit and determination. All of them left an impact. We would like to thank everyone who gave us so much of their time, answered our questions and helped inform our recommendations. Thank you to Ajay for guiding us and Lalit for opening the doors (and giving Dan multiple motorcycle rides). Thank you to Shruti and Avi for supporting and guiding us through our time in Auroville. And thank you to everyone who has been reading along!