Dear Friends,
We have uploaded a set of photographs of the early years of Sri Aurobindo Ashram. Through these photographs one could relive history for they comprise of snapshots of the four separate buildings which now constitute the Ashram main building, construction of ‘Golconde’— the oldest dormitory/guest house of the Ashram, courtyard of the Ashram, Christmas celebrations, Ashram Cricket Team, etc. Some photos of the early members of the Ashram are also included here.
With warm regards,
Anurag Banerjee
Founder,
Overman Foundation.
*
Early inmates of the Ashram, 1923.
Top (left to right): Rajangam, Tirupati, Khitish, Nolini Kanta Gupta, Satyen alias Vindyeswari Prasad, Kanailal Ganguly, Bijoy Kumar Nag, Ambalal Balakrishna Purani and Nagaratnam.
Centre: Punamchand, Champaben (Punamchand’s wife), Mrs. Kodandaraman and Kodandaraman Rao.
Bottom: Champaklal, Suresh Chandra Chakravarti alias Moni, K.Amrita and Manmohan.
Library House
Sri Aurobindo and the Mother had shifted to the “Library House” at 9, Rue de la Marine in October 1922. It was purchased on 6 April 1929 for Rs. 21000.
View of the “Library House” from the south-east.
Meditation House
Sri Aurobindo and the Mother had shifted to the “Meditation House” at 28 Rue François Martin on 8 February 1927. This house was rented from 1 January 1927 and purchased on 13 July 1927 for Rs. 14000.
Rosary House
Situated at 10 Rue de la Marine, the “Rosary House” was purchased on 16 December 1937 for Rs. 15000.
Secretariat House
Situated at 8 Rue Saint Gilles, the “Secretariat House” was rented in May 1926 and purchased on 23 March 1929 for Rs. 3000.
Vasudha, Dayaben, Lakshmiben, Kamala, Motiba and Prasanna in 1928.
A photograph taken in September 1929. Shanti Joshi can be seen in this photograph.
Bansidhar, Champaklal, Motiba and Kantilal in 1932.
Taraben
Construction of Golconde, 1940.
Construction of Golconde, 1940.
Construction of Golconde, 1942.
Central Courtyard of the Ashram, 1942.
Children in Ashram Courtyard, 1945.
Noel in Red House (opposite the Ashram Library), 1945.
Ashram Cricket Team (late 1940s).
***
RY Deshpande said,
February 9, 2013 at 1:20 pm
Wonderful!
Dayanand said,
February 9, 2013 at 1:22 pm
Thank you very much for the invaluable pictures of those days.what a great Blossoming from simple beginings…and now we look forward to the establishment of the New World…I see it happening before my eyes
Tusar N. Mohapatra said,
February 9, 2013 at 1:32 pm
Reblogged this on The Mother's Lasso.
Nilesh said,
February 9, 2013 at 2:36 pm
These photos say a lot of things and reveal history.
paulette said,
February 9, 2013 at 3:14 pm
But for the sadhaka of the integral Yoga this inner or this outer solitude can only be incidents or periods in his spiritual progress. Accepting life, he has to bear not only his own burden but a great part of the world’s burden too along with it, as a continuation of his own sufficiently heavy load. Therefore his Yoga has much more of the nature of a battle than others; but this is not only an individual battle, it is a collective war waged over a considerable country. He has not only to conquer in himself the forces of egoistic falsehood and disorder, but to conquer them as representatives of the same adverse and inexhaustible forces in the world. Their representative character gives them a much more obstinate capacity of resistance, an almost endless right to recurrence. Often he finds that even after he has won persistently his own personal battle, he has still to win it over and over again in a seemingly interminable war, because his inner existence has already been so much enlarged that not only it contains his own being with its well-defined needs and experiences, but is in solidarity with the being of others, because in himself he contains the universe.
Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis of Yoga, ch. The Yoga of Divine Works, pp. 77-8.
[Submitted by Paulette, Auroville]
Kasthuri said,
February 9, 2013 at 4:37 pm
Thanks for your service. We are lucky to see all the olden days photos. no words to say.
dayanidhi patel said,
February 9, 2013 at 5:37 pm
photos, just superb really very deeply touching ,it really reminds me of the days when real sadhaks built Mothers ashram……keep it up
dayanidhi patel
Madhava rao said,
February 10, 2013 at 9:07 am
The photographs of the early Ashram inmates, the immortal pioneers of a new race and a new age are truly inspiring. They speak of the hour of God.
Madhava rao
Anil Jaisingh said,
February 10, 2013 at 10:48 am
Awesome U took me to another age, was spell bound my soul felt as if I belonged there……..
Indra said,
February 11, 2013 at 4:33 am
Thank you & its superb……
Jayantika Basu said,
February 11, 2013 at 9:04 am
Thank you. Its wonderful….
Arup Basu said,
February 11, 2013 at 10:25 am
Dear Anurag,
No words can be too high for what you’re doing! Truly wonderful photos! Thanks once again for letting us have a peep through the gates of heaven.
Best ever
Arupda
mikran said,
February 17, 2013 at 12:40 am
just wonderful
Alina said,
March 11, 2013 at 6:10 am
So nice! Thank you.
Hemant Shirwalkar said,
March 15, 2013 at 11:01 am
Wonderful photographs…
vishnupada dash said,
March 17, 2013 at 2:57 am
These are not photo news. these are photo history.Nice.
Alinka said,
March 23, 2013 at 10:05 pm
We translated it into Russian and put on our web-site here:
http://integralyoga.ru/yoga/statii/esrly_years_of_aurobindo_ashram
Sudhsnshu Dash said,
March 24, 2013 at 7:50 pm
wonderful. I was born in 1968 and it was a dream of mine to see these photographs. I thank you sincerely for this lovely and rare collections.
Thanx again.