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workers or only the Aurovilians working there. This was written on the AV
Foundation letterhead, for the Working Committee of the Residents Assembly:
*To the Matrimandir Workers, from the AV Council/Working Committee,
Friday, October 10, 2003:
“Dear Friends,
As you are probably aware many changes have been taking place in the
management structure of the Matrimandir. We, the Working Committee and the
Auroville Council would like to meet all of you to explain what is happening at the
workshop on Monday, October 13
th
at 3.00 PM. We request all of you to be present.
Fraternally,
Valli”
Note: On that Monday, the 13
th
of October 2003, I went to work as usual, and so
did Arjun, he in his upstairs office by the small entrance to the area, and I rounding
the site and sitting with my registers and working papers in the open office
overlooking the sphere, which everyone called “50”, after its intercom phone
number. The atmosphere was bizarre. I came to know the weirdest stories had
been floated, to feed the support for my removal – one of the latest concoctions
being buzzed abroad by none other than my friend and sister of another life,
Jacqueline, was that I had been, as a routine practice, slipping extra monies in
separate envelopes to the workers on wages distribution days, so as to ensure their
support; another one was that I was the one to screen new employees and
workers, particularly among the “security guards” so as to obtain only those who
would be willing to go to bed with me! There seemed to be no actual limit other
than one’s imagination to the range of stories that could be told about, or rather
against, Arjun or I…
That morning, I drafted two notes at my table, which never had a chance to go out.
One was a last-ditch effort at veering away from this ugly little victory; the other
was a demand for decency to the Secretary:
*A Collective statement of Intent – suggested by Divakar, October 13,
2003 (unused draft):
“There is only one solution: you must all agree.”
The Mother.
“Recognising the higher value of true agreement and its essential necessity for the
true and harmonious growth of Auroville, the Community of Auroville chooses,
rather than the harmful path of one viewpoint imposing its rule, to give time for the
all-inclusive solution to emerge.
A moratorium of 2 years is decreed during which period only those parts of the
work that have the agreement of all concerned will be completed, while all the rest
will only be maintained as per the present state of development.
The Community of Auroville commits itself to assisting the emergence of the
necessary solution.”