A brief history
 Aurovilians have been reading Savitri
together since the very earliest days. For several years in
the late 1980s and early 1990s a group used meeting regularly
under the great banyan tree at the centre of Auroville.
On November 24, 1994 the Auroville Savitri Study Circle was
started. The circle met weekly in different locations, and in
addition to Savitri reading they added study and
discussion of the text, inviting guest speakers to give talks
and share their insights.
Out of this study circle was born the
dream of Savitri Bhavan - a place where all kinds of materials
and activities for study, research and concentration on Sri
Aurobindo's revelatory epic could be gathered and made
available. A site was granted in the International Zone of
Auroville, between the Bharat Nivas and the Matrimandir.
The Foundation Stone for the complex was
laid by Nirodbaran, Sri Aurobindo's scribe for Savitri,
at a ceremony attended by many well-wishers from the Ashram
and Auroville, on November 24, 1995.
After the Foundation ceremony, the gatherings of the Study
Circle were held under the trees on the site of the future
complex. Later, construction of a temporary shelter on the
site allowed a greater range of activities. It became possible
to store books and other materials, and to hold a variety of
classes in the evenings, in addition to the regular Sunday
morning gatherings. The talks by guest-speakers became a
regular monthly feature, and transport was provided for people
from Pondicherry who wished to attend.
In May 1998, at the initiative of our
team-member Dr. Beena Naik and with the support of her family
in Gujarat, it was possible to organise a benefit performance
in Navsari by Mme. Hema Malini and her troupe. This gave a
great impetus to fundraising for the realisation of the
complex planned to house Savitri Bhavan.
By September 1998 sufficient funds were
available to start construction of a first phase of the
complex: a multi-purpose hall, office, and archive/storage
space, as a physical base for the further development of the
Bhavan. The first brick ceremony took place on December 13,
1998.
This first phase building was completed by August 1999, and
Nirodbaran performed the inauguration ceremony on August 8th.
Since then the building has become the base for an
ever-expanding programme of activities.
In June 2001, the 468 'Meditations on Savitri'
paintings prepared by Huta under the guidance, instruction and
inspiration of the Mother, were given into the care of Savitri
Bhavan. It is hoped that during the Mother's 125th
birth-anniversary year, (2002 - 2003) it will be possible to
complete the beautiful art-gallery that is meant to house
them, so that they can be kept on permanent display under
ideal and very secure conditions.
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