Each and every year the Auroville schools
close during the hot May and June months, and this means a long and
hot stretch of time for many of our kiddos (and their parents..). Of
course there are those who are lucky enough to get a ticket abroad
to visit family or friends, or who go out in India to trek in cooler
regions, but many of us stay here and grin and bear it.
It's therefore a great opportunity and
blessing that Auroville has established, since the early eighties, a
good collaboration and agreement with the Tamil Nadu Forest
Department to annually hold summer camps in Berijam, located in the
Palani Hills at a distance of a 12-hour bus ride from Auroville. The
photos on this page give you an idea of the great beauty of the
place.
Julietta reports
"I wake up and notice that Valli and
Kuppu are already up to prepare breakfast. We're camping at a lake
the beauty of which does not need to hide behind travel catalogues
for holidays in paradise. We're in Berijam, the middle of nowhere
atop the Palani Hills, one hour's drive from Kodaikanal hill
station. My holiday this year is no romantic affair, but a camp full
of hungry Auroville kids on their yearly adventure vacation.
I close my eyes again hoping to get some more sleep, but in vain.
I'm in the 'big girls tent', together with the two kitchen helpers,
courtesy of Auroville's Tofu unit, and Alma, one of the other
accompanying adults. My duty is not the mending of wounds gotten
during playtime, telling stories or reading books with the smaller
kids, collecting firewood or water with the bigger boys, playing
cricket and volleyball, or doing the laundry. These jobs are taken
care of by others.
Cooking for sixty, five times a day..
I have to take care of 60 empty stomachs
to be filled five times a day, snacks included. And no matter how
much you cook, it's never enough. "Can I have seconds...?"
are the words that still ring in my ears, weeks after the trip is
over. I also still see the images of these beautiful hills and the
open skies, and the ice-cold lake in which, with the help of a
surfboard, the kids manage to dip themselves before breakfast. I
still dream of the fresh air, which you inhale on the treks through
those wild forests, accompanied by experienced young Aurovilians,
watching deer, bison, wild dogs and an enormous variety of flora and
fauna. And I still hear the laughter of the children, having fun all
day long, and the songs at the night's campfire. And I'm grateful to
have been part of this journey into pure nature and this adventure
of inner growing."
Frederick, one of the originators, reminisces
"The idea of summercamp outings for
Aurovilian and village children was born, and became reality, in
1984. The first trip led to Yurcaud, near Salem, the closest hill
station to Auroville, only about six hours ride by bus.
Unfortunately, two problems occurred: the camping place was on a
steep slope and people found themselves piled up at one end of the
tent every morning. Which would have been only of little
disturbance, if the quality of the drinking water wasn't so bad that
participants complained, even after years, about their 'Yurcaud-stomach'!
Conditions of the Forest Department
A better site was discovered by a number
of trekkers, guided by nature lovers from the Kodaikanal
International School where, from early times onwards, some of our
Auroville kids would go for their studies. The difficult part here
was to get the permission of the Tamil Nadu Forest Department, which
eventually, after a lot of paperwork and personal visits to the
Chief Conservator in Madras, was obtained. The Auroville organisers
managed to convince the authorities concerned that they would
maintain strict camp discipline, that the site would be used in an
educative manner so as to enable kids to learn about nature, the
rain tree forests, their flora and fauna, and, last but not least,
that they would leave the place clean and unspoiled after finishing
the camp.
Other areas
Occasionally we also had our camps in
other places. Due to a temporary settlement of Tamil refugees from
Sri Lanka in the allotted district, or the occupation of the camp
site by forest workers, for instance, alternative locations had to
be found in some years. So we have participated in the Youth Hostel
Associated Summercamps in the Ooty area and conducted training camps
for specific sport activities like tennis, basketball and soccer in
the International Schools of Ooty and Kodaikanal."
The right balance
Besides these camps, there have always
been other activities for the kids in the summer season as well,
such as bicycle tours through the southern states, trekking in the
Himalayas, and snorkling in Rameswaram. These offers are open to
both Aurovilian and village children who join the Auroville
educational programmes and schools. One of the main ideas behind
these vacations outside of Auroville is the right balance between
'just having a good time' and the challenge of overcoming personal
limitations. The treks are sometimes really exhausting and tiring,
but after succeeding one builds a kind of muscle inside that
strengthens the character.
The funding of the camps is always a
mixture of both outside funds (from f.i. the Government of India,
other organisations like the Foundation for World Educationan, the
AVI Centres) and private participation from inside Auroville. Even
now, if you join, you have to pay your contribution, and then the
work begins. And the fun!
