300 / 1424
300
… Miriam comes to see me here; she is leaving to the US in a few days and needs
to confirm her experience and bring it into perspective…
… I collect the monies and go attend the “Envelopes” meeting at “Abri”; I am
impressed by Diane’s way of working and it makes me want to help her; it is an
interesting mix of notions at play there, about how Auroville is supposed to
develop, what are our responsibilities and what are the efforts required of us, what
“self-sufficiency” means in the context of Auroville, and the limitations of
categorising our activities, and the need to rely on… You, practically, physically…
… The authorities appear to be in a bind, now that we have stepped away from their
trap and called their bluff…
*16-3-1980, Auroville:
Krishna sends me a copy of Satprem’s latest book, “Gringo”.
… Diane comes to bring some documents and letters to be taken to M.D in Delhi
and she stays with us quite a long while; I have come to trust her a lot…
… Everyone comes, throughout the day, to bid farewell to C…
I am a little worried that, all at the same time, several of us will be away: P.G is
going to Bombay to join the Exhibition team, Fred is also going to be out, and so
are Arjun and Deepti…
*17-3-1980, New Delhi:
We left “Sincerity” in the middle of the night…
M.D has welcomed us at Juanita’s. He tells me how it has been for him in Delhi and
what we can reasonably expect and how we have to be patient and persevere;
about various threads and contacts being followed; about Navajata’s influence at
different levels of officialdom… The communication with him is good and promising.
P.A is also in the house, a beautifully furnished residence, and he tells us how the
Exhibition has been going so far, in his sensitive manner…
At night, after a dinner of meat and wine – one had to accept – with Juanita, Tapas,
F.Gr, M.D, P.A and Rakhal, I took C back to the airport for her flight…
There is a whole confusion over the bookings, several names have been “forgotten”
including C’s; people get angry, tempers fly; we keep quiet and, in the end, C is
given a First Class seat…!
… I get down the taxi by Juanita’s house just as F.Gr is getting down another,
with… Patricia! She has just returned from the US… She is all clad in green and, in a
flash, she is in my arms and we are hugging, hugging each other, and laughing, our
eyes singing with it…
*18-3-1980, New Delhi:
M.D shows me his documentation work. He tells me more on how he is proceeding
with Kireet’s help and shows me Satprem and Sujata’s letter… There is no doubt
that he is doing an excellent job, effective…
*19-3-1980, Auroville:
All the way back, in the plane and in the buses, I read “Gringo”… Coming home is
like returning to that secret place in the rock, hidden behind the water-fall… it fills
me with a silent gratitude…
*20-3-1980, Auroville: