….there was a ceremony on 21st Feb 1972 with a bonfire.

A year before this ceremony, there was another ceremony on 21st Feb 1971, during which a bonfire was lit at the Amphitheater.

The 1971 ceremony was the foundation stone laying ceremony for the Matrimandir. The 1972 ceremony was to commemorate the beginning of construction of the Matrimandir. In 1972 the fire/bonfire was lit inside the excavation for the Matrimandir’s foundation. I have attached photos from both bonfires. The dates are in the file names. I have also attached a photo of another bonfire, this one from 28 Feb 1977! I hope you enjoy them!


– Gilles Guigan’s compilation of Mother’s words on Auroville

1972

Dawn – the sun was coming up –

Another fire in the pit of MM – at least one pillar was finished (opposite from the kitchen)..and we were working on another

we started the bonfire to celebrate the completion of a pillar and the inauguration of starting the next one

All night concretings….noisy

-Maggie

I do remember going. It was quite impressive – the silence before the dawn with the crackling of the tall burning trees stacked against each other, slowly watching the sun rise behind the Matrimandir still under construction. All of us gathered in silence.

🙏 Andrea

My Memories are of the Matrimandir workers led by Gerard & Divakar started using discarded construction wood to light a fire on the ground near the lotus  in the amphitheatre in the early Seventies. All the workers from the structure would come and sit all over the place. on the structure, in the amphitheatre, under the Banyan.   I do remember one small fire in the pit of the Matrimandir, but that was for a particular puja. Piero would know more for permission to do anything of this would come from him.

Francis

i do remember bonfires looking like this during the 70’s    …i came in Oct 74, probably saw such fires from 76 onwards.

One tradition of fires started , of course with the fires which were lit, at the Matrimandir site, for the inauguration for Matrimandir on Feb 21 in both    ’71     &   ’72….  

John Harper