There is a common kitchen and dining hall for people who live in the Ashram. While people can have their own meal arrangements, the group dining helps thecommunity. Elderly and infirm residents are supplied food at their homes. All food is prepared from the locally produced grains and vegetables. Milk is procured from the local dairies. All work in the kitchen and the dining area is performed by volunteers. We had coupons for breakfast that Dr Sampad had procured earlier. We gave those to a person with a desk at the door. A long line of people slowly wound its way. People picked up steel plates from a stack and one or two metal bowls. One bowl was for breakfast cereal: cooked oat meal, and the other was for milk. There were several ladies serving. At the end there were bananas, one could pick a few. It is difficult to estimate what one can eat. In an Ashrama setting one has to feed oneself such that one does not get hungry until the next meal. There were common benches with tables for small and large groups. Some areas were noisy with the summer visitors of families and acquaintances. We picked up a quiet area and had our food. The oat meal was rougher than what is available in the west. Apparently nutrition of a food is connected with its earthiness. It was a good experience. I was slow. Most people left. The place was only open for half hour. We dropped our plate and bowls in another area where many people were busy cleaning the dishes. I wanted to talk to many of them, but I did not have time. Dr Sampad's motorbike was a good transport in the area. One rides up in the back and balances oneself. The roads were well paved. The ride is steady. Many cities in the west have resorted to rental bicycles to be used for independent movement. With its resort like environment, Puducherry would be a good candidate for bike rentals. In the Ashram area, most walk to work. The spread of the Ashrama buildings could be in a square mile area. We reached a long three story building with a garden. These are the premises of Sri Aurobindo Society. There was a person outside the gate to help in parking. Disciplined parking helps to pack more objects in limited space. The parking was to be done on the roadside, there was no separate parking shed. From the number of transports it appeared as though people did travel a distance and that all might not live in the Ashram complex. We went inside to the third floor on a side of which the Sanskrit and culture group was housed. There were several young men and women already busy with their computers. They developed software for various activities on Sanskrit documentation and promotion. I settled down on a computer to check on my communication. I also took time to look at the slides for my afternoon seminar. We had an appointment with Mr. Vijay, the Managing Director of Sri Aurobindo Society. His family members were among the early residents in the Ashram. We reached a residential building which is used as the Administrative office. We met Mr. Vijay there, an elderly person of strong athletic build who was sportingly ready in the shorts.. We settled ourselves in an airy and lighted room that had comfortable chairs. After a short introduction I spoke to him about a project that I had been planning to launch in the US along with the Sanskrit project. This project is in the form a Museum-cum-educational institution that might enable the youth in the future to study and research on the culture of India. Sri Aurobindo was one of the few who tried to understand the essence of India's cultural history through self-study and yogic practices. My quest has been to discover the wholesomeness of the culture that flows through the habitat, food, family and conduct. I agree with Sri Aurobindo that the evolution of culture in India has been a pursuit of truth in life. But how do we establish the truth? Is truth asymptotic? Sri Aurobindo Society is a large enterprise and operates as Non-Governmental organization operating on various fronts. India's immediate needs are in health, hygiene and rural development. While Swami Vivekananda wanted his monks to serve people, Sri Aurobindo called for personal development. In our social work we have to always look to our higher self. The pain and misery are local, the human psyche is beyond the local conditions. "The man must explore!" was Sri Aurobindo's message. I agree. Our discussion moved on to the documentation of India history. Mr. Vijjay was greatly fascinated by the segmented approach suggested my me and offered his blessings. I said we would need mutual collaboration and he fully endorsed. He suggested that Dr Sampad would represent Sri Aurobindo Society in the India discovery project I was pursuing. We returned back to Dr Sampad's work area where he showed me some well crafted multimedia productions on Sanskrit prosody. Rendering in prosody is an old Indian contribution to the world of composition. He showed me the compilation of all the available prosody formats in Sanskrit literature. His production demonstrated the rendering of each with examples. It was a remarkable contribution to education. I have interest in the neurology of prosody. I thought I would study his work to understand how emotion gets attached to a rendering. It is a complex topic in inquiring the role of mood and mind. Mind science was more developed in India than we know today. He showed me his other works on yoga text and Sanskrit learning. Each was creatively done. Certainly the Ashrma environment has helped him with the security of thinking and producing creative work. He is a person of less needs and no complaints, I admired his personality. I hope he represents the new youth in the modern India. Let many be inspired! It was lunch time. We left for the dining hall.
