Friend from Auroville

Well, yesterday I ran into a friend from Auroville who is just about to finish her "newcomer" phase.
For those who do not know, Auroville is an international community just outside of Pondicherry in Tamil Nadu. It was started in 1970 or thereabouts by the Mother and Shri Aurobindo. The population is international with about 50% Indians and 50% the rest of the world. The intention of the community is a place for people who want to live in peace and harmony, a very badly needed ethic.

My friend is from Germany and is fairly convinced that Auroville is going to stay pretty much the way that it is now, famous for the architecture but not so famous for peace and harmony. This, by the way, is probably the only place in India where a "foreigner" can stay and be relaxed about their own value system.

I myself have visited this place 4 times and stayed at the Center Guest House and Atithi Griha. The CGH is good value for the money and I usually make my reservation a year in advance.
This is place is pretty well known for travellers getting together to talk about their travels and their feelings and experiences. Travel in India has changed a whole lot just in the last couple of
years and it is not the fun paradise that it used to be. I have not travelled in China for a comparison of the other Asian Giant. However anybody wanting to travel in India needs to be aware of the population pressures that have almost completely changed the "travelling" landscape here. Whereas is used to be fairly enjoyable to take a bus around the various states, this may not be true anymore.