Auroville – My Global Studio Experience in India

My experience in Auroville was consistently surprising and exciting. Immediately after landing in Chennai, we piled into taxis with no seatbelts and began our three-hour journey through loud, chaotic roads crowded with buses, cows, rickshaws, dogs, and motorcycles carrying up to five people at once. As the roads turned into red dirt paths, we arrived in Auroville and began our Global Studio experience.

While in Auroville, I attended sound baths, Pongal ceremonies, pottery lessons, women’s circles, meditation in the Matrimandir and a range of other rich and unique experiences. I learned about the differences in food between North and South India (not quite as much butter chicken and garlic naan in South India as expected) and was surprised to find that Auroville loves Italian food just as much as we do- there were more Italian restaurants than Indian on Auroville’s main road.

I rode an e-bike along busy roads, avoiding cows and over-crowded buses with no windows, I jumped in tiny rickshaws and had a go at steering when the driver allowed it (this was more often than you’d think). I made countless pots out of clay in wheel-throwing classes held by locals and gained so much knowledge and appreciation for the craft. I bought three different pashminas and tried my hand at bargaining with the sellers, ultimately relying on a friend to actually get the price down because I had no idea what I was doing.

Overall, my Auroville experience was entirely unexpected and focused more on personal development than career advancement- which is not where I expected my degree to take me but I’m extremely grateful that it did. I learned so much about my own beliefs that I’d never previously been forced to consider. I discovered new passions and made new friends whom I hope to be close with for a very long time. I gained a deep appreciation for the comforts we tend to take for granted in Australia and got so used to seeing cows everywhere that I find myself unconsciously looking out for them while driving through Sydney. I’ll never forget my time in Auroville and everything I learned.

Emerald Constance Slater
UTS Business School
Faculty-Led – BCII – Global Studio Auroville in India
New Colombo Plan Mobility Grant recipient