Auroville: From Utopia to Reality

In Southern India there is a town where 2,000 people, hailing from 30 different countries, are living up to their dream of a united human race. They believe that mankind has reached the threshold of a new consciousness, and are therefore turning their immediate environment into a laboratory where this dream can be fulfilled.

After thirty years of hard work, a barren land has been gradually replaced by lush forests, and the poor Tamil villages now contrast with fields with organic growth, schools, factories and futuristic residential areas. Every aspect of life has become a reason to experiment, giving rise to an abundance of ideas as well as solutions to problems. Success alternates with disappointments, yet the people of Auroville persevere: “We keep trying” they say. Their “lab-city,” somewhere between utopia and reality, continues to grow.