Sudden activity

Suddenly we seem to have a lot of people around at the moment.  After some months of nothing happening two people turned up this morning to get the slab of granite ready for Ganesh.  This meant a lot of work with a hammer and chisel to make it level.  I am writing this mid afternoon and they are still hard at it.  Shows how long it must take to do something complicated like a Ganesh statue.

At the same time we have quite a few people gluing together the miles of water pipe needed for the research.  And after that all the trenches will at last be filled up.  Although Rajan has just reminded me that now we are going to start having a lot more trenches dug for the electrical system……

A mystery to live

Saw Jo today and had a lovely session when more clarity about the rhythms of my life emerged.  This was my ‘me’ card; Shakti balancing my inner and outer life.

I also found out that the way energies can sometimes come together is a mystery that I don’t have to work out!  I was thinking about how the group turned up at just the right time yesterday to do the needed work.  How did that happen?  I don’t  know and apparently I don’t need to know.

There is a lot to be grateful for.

Work gets done

This time of year we have few volunteers so it can be a bit of a struggle sometimes to get all the work done. 

At very short notice someone phoned to ask if he could bring a group of 17 people to help in the garden.  They came this morning and managed to weed all the beds in New Horizon.  Something I didn’t think we would achieve for some time.

I am very grateful.

Onward

Had a lovely session with Moorthy when we talked about next year’s gardening project at Transition school.  I’m so pleased how the education programs at two schools are developing.

That was after the morning work when we mulched more trees with coconut fibre mat retrieved from old mattresses.  Its really good to be able to recycle like this and it works very well.

Apart from that its been a very quiet day.  There was a strike and so Auroville has been in lock down all day with very few people around.

Gorgeous picture

I love this picture of Magzihan on the bike with Rajan ready to go to Foodlink.

Another very hot day when I had another group of people look around the farm.  There is going to be a strike tomorrow and it looks as if Auroville is going to be in lockdown again.  I suppose that will give me more time to write…..

Very hot and dry

Had a group come to look around the farm this morning.  I was amazed to see 12 people arrive as usually there are not more than five or six on this particular session.  We looked around and I talked yet again about the water problems.  This time to a mainly receptive audience.  At the same time I also had some more ideas for water research. 

I will need to think about the best way of creating ponds that hold the most water as well as ways to stop evaporation. From the fencing point of view it might be better to dig a new pond in New Horizon which is well fenced.  Rather than use the existing ponds which don’t have a fence that keeps out goats.  Digging a new one we could also have it the size and shape we need for that piece of land.

Of course we also have to finance it.

Water

This was based on an image that I got during a rather restless and sleepless night a few nights ago.  For some reason it reminds me of the water problems here.

I have tried so hard to get people interested in what I think is a real emergency about water.  But there has been very little response.  Last month our well went dry SEVEN times. But so often the response seems to be to pump up as much water as possible rather than conserve what we have got.  Even amongst people who I think should know better.

I have had an idea for some research though – to try to create a pond that we can use for irrigation.  Its not as easy as it sounds as we have to get the pond the right size and stop the evaporation as much as possible.

Concert

Yesterday I went to talk to someone at Udavi school who is going to help me with the new vegetable garden.  As a result I feel that I have got my head straight about what we are going to do and how to do it. I have to write the proposal by May 8^th.  One thing we are not sure about though is how we are going to run the After School project.  Do we let anyone who wants to come? Which makes it nice and open although it could either be very overcrowded or no one there at all.  Or do students have to make a commitment? We couldn’t decide.

After talking we went to watch an end of term Indian dance program at the school.  I really enjoyed it.

Working together

I love this picture of Maghizan although I wish it was a video clip.  I could then show how when work starts he goes into the store room to get a digger.  Then goes out and starts digging – all on his own!

Neem everywhere

Everywhere the neem is in flower and is making a beautiful show.  It doesn’t seem to be making me sneeze too much.

New development

This is a picture of our new hydroponics system.  A company has developed the structure but now wants us to develop how to do it organically.  Which means looking at various ways in which the liquid fertilizer can be made.

It comes from one of Vivek’s contacts and is going to be very interesting.  It won’t cover the place with plastic like the last hydroponics project did.  I hated it and it almost put me off hydroponics completely.

A little curl

Was busy with watering and everything today as Rajan and family went off to get Magzhiran’s hair cut at the temple.  Its meant to be done when he is a year old but it couldn’t be done then as someone in the family had recently died.  Finally they got around to doing it today.  Apparently he cried while his head was being shaved but now he looks quite pleased with himself.  And its probably a lot cooler in this hot weather.

If it was Elsie I think even by a year she is not going to have much hair to cut off.  Emma sent me this picture of her first curl, but as the picture shows its very small and delicate.  All my babies were hairless like that but they have good heads of hair now.

Joy

I had a dreadful night last night as it was very hot and I was awake for what seemed like a long time.  Yet during the time I was awake I got these ideas for the student book that I am writing.  All this morning I have been able to write and the ideas have just flowed.  Its been wonderful.

I recently got this picture of my youngest grand-daughter which I think is a study in the joyfulness of being.  Really resonates with how I am feeling after the writing.

I need yoga!

Another quiet day when I managed to get some very necessary admin stuff done for the farm.  I hope very much that we can get the building and rebuilding sorted out before I go away in July.  I’d love Rajan and Sangita to have their place before I come back in August.

My yoga classes have been cancelled for a week.  Already I am really missing them as my body is calling to go to the class which would normally happen tonight.  Hopefully it will be the push I need to get me going on my own again.  When Pitanga closes for the month of June and then I go to the UK I will need to have my own practice in place.

A quiet day at last

Today was Tamil New Year so a day off.  As it’s a family day and it was quite hot there wasn’t loud music or frazzle to deal with.  I spent the morning making the above banner for the redesigned web site.  It shows ‘earth to eating’ in pictures.

In the afternoon I went for a ride on my bicycle to look at a house that Bastiaan is building for his mother in law.  Its an interesting design but he’s using wood from Finland and walls from Germany so it isn’t very ecological although he says it is surprisingly cheap.  No good for me though.

A precious gift

I received this lovely stone today from a volunteer who is having a very good experience in Buddha Garden.

What touched me is that she told me the design on the stone is the same shape as Hungary where she comes from.  It obviously meant a lot to her and I felt she was giving me something very precious.

A new job

I watered fruit trees in New Horizon this morning.  This included doing quite a lot of clearing up in the cashew orchard.  It was then that  I realised that my next job is going to be looking after these areas of Buddha Garden.

There needs to be someone who looks after them long term and makes sure that what needs to be done is done.

Hot season has arrived

I always know the hot season has arrived when we put the shade net on top of the nursery roof.

Daughter and grand daughter

Rachael managed to get over to Manchester from Sheffield to see her niece on the first day of the Easter holiday.  The sky in Manchester is as blue as the sky is here although quite a few degrees cooler.

We all signed the housing agreement for Buddha Garden today.  Quite an achievement given the arguments we have had about it.  Now we have to sort out the money.  I am actually very encouraged that although we do argue about fundamental things we are still talking.

Busy day

This is the poster that I have made for Spiros as a ‘thank you’ for being here.  I spent a lot of the morning doing this together with a draft about the new organisation for our volunteers.

This afternoon – amazingly considering the heat – I found the energy to clear out a lot of my stuff.  As well as also cleaning up shelves and getting rid of ants.  I’m now ready to move out when it is necessary.  And hope we can start talking about the new building we need so that Rajan and Sangeeta can have a proper place to live.

The eye of ?

I have decided to make a poster for Spiros, one of our very long term volunteers who is leaving at the end of the week.  I have been looking through all my photos and found this one of the sun rising at the new year.  Quite appropriate considering that Tamil New Year is this Friday.

Making it this shape it reminds me of an eye.

Maize development

This is a picture of what came off our maize bed this morning.  As well as an ordinary maize cob there are two sorts of baby maize as well as half cob that had been eaten by parrots.

Over the years the maize plants seem to have to developed so that many now have three cobs on each stem instead of two.  And the cobs are more diverse.  I think we are watching natural genetic modification in action as the plants respond to climate changes.

Last year not so hot

This is a picture I took on the same day last year which was when we started picking cashews.  The cashews are way behind this year, presumably because of the bad monsoon and present heat.  Nuts are forming but quite a lot of them have gone black and I presume will just drop off the tree.  I wonder if there is enough moisture in the soil for the fruit that comes after the nuts.

It seems it is hotter earlier this year.  Last year it didn’t start getting really hot until the end of April

Udavi school

Last session at Udavi school today until they come back after the summer holiday in June.  The fence for the new vegetable garden is up and we spent the time marking out the beds.

I felt so excited but most of the students did not.  It could have been the heat I suppose….

More blossom

There is a lot of blossom around at this time.  The picture is of neem blossom which means I will be having a lot of sneezing fits soon.  I wanted to take a picture of the amla blossom which is very small and makes the twigs and branches of the tree look all furry.

Unfortunately by the time I came to take a photo it had all disappeared.

A difficult conversation

Had a difficult conversation with a long term volunteer today who is not very happy about how he has been treated.  I think we should all have been more conscious about what was going on and taken action earlier.  I don’t know quite how we can help him leave focussing on the positive rather than the negative.

While I was talking with him I noticed this lovely passion fruit flower nearby.  Seemed appropriate given that it is nearly Easter and this flower has a lot of symbolism attached to that.

Auroculture's peacock

I went to see Auroculture in her new home today.  A new elders’ facility where she lives with at the moment four other people.  She didn’t seem too happy but she has only been there a week and it will take some time to settle down.  There is a huge garden which at the moment looks very dry and bit bare.

I saw this beautiful peacock which of course would have a very hard time if it ever shows its face in Buddha Garden.  They can be very destructive although I don’t think it will matter too much in Auroculture’s garden which is mostly trees and shrubs which they don't find very interesting to eat.

My productive world

I am constantly amazed by this jackfruit tree.  The amount it manages to produce is incredible.  Last year it produced two large fruit and this year seven and I have seen other trees with much more.

I am so grateful for all the earth in Buddha Garden gives me.

A dream

I wonder also about the symbolism of the hotel being in Singapore.  This city is one of those places that never does things by half measures and I think the hotel is a symbol of that.  Apparently Singapore decided that they wanted to make more money from tourism and to double the number of tourists.  Marine Sands was built in response to that and it is a typical Singaporean response – the hotel consists of three towers with a huge roof garden over them that links them together.  In the roof garden they have the largest infinity pool in the world.  To keep the garden and the pool level there is a system of jacks that adjust the roof garden according to climate conditions.  Where else would you see something like that????

In Buddha Garden we aren’t creating another Marine Sands hotel but I think we are creating something very special.  I wonder if my fears about loss are more about losing the dream/aspiration or even the soul of Buddha Garden.