Sri Aurobindo and the Mother stayed for over half a
century in a block of four houses that came to be known as the Ashram main
building in Pondicherry.Sri Aurobindo Ashram
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► Ashram main building |
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Sri Aurobindo and the Mother stayed for over half a
century in a block of four houses that came to be known as the Ashram main
building in Pondicherry.
From 25 October 1922 to 7 February 1927 they lived in Library House (9 Rue de la Marine) on the first floor. Sri Aurobindo's room was situated on the east-south corner. The Mother's room looked to the north (three windows on the north backward facade of the building).
From 7 February 1927 Sri Aurobindo and the Mother lived in Meditation House. Sri Aurobindo's room was on the first floor. Its two windows looked to the north.
From 24 April 1932 to 1953 Moter lived in “Salon” (New Secretariat building) that was not her private room. This Salon is on the first floor and has three windows to the west and a door to the south that opened to terrace.
From 1953 to 1973 Mother lived on the second floor of the Meditation house in the “Mother's room ”.
Ashram main building is situated at the north-east part of Pondicherry. It measures approximately 60 metres long from east to west, and 45 metres wide from north to south with many open courtyards within it. Not far from the Ashram (eastward, over three blocks) there are embankment and ocean.
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Schema of the ground floor (1931) |
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Schema of the first floor (1931) |
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There were originally four separate houses in this block with compound walls that separated them from each other:
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1. Library House. 9 Rue de la Marine; south-west part of the Ashram. This is the house that you first see as you enter the main gate of the Ashram main building. It was the first house of the Ashram main building. Here Sri Aurobindo and the Mother lived from 1922 to 1927. This is two-storied house with pillars. North-west part of it consists of Cold Storage block. |
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2. Meditation House (28 Rue François Martin; north-east part of the Ashram). It is in this house Sri Aurobindo and the Mother lived from 1927. |
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3. Secretariat (8 Rue Saint Gilles; north part of the Ashram). The building was entirely rebuild in 1929-1932. Central part of the north facade consists of Balcony block with Pavitra's room on the first floor with a balcony attached to it, which the Mother used for the Balcony Darshans. West part of the north facade consists of Prosperity block. |
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4. Rosary House (7 Rue de la Marine; south-east part of the Ashram). |
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SOUTH SIDE
The main entrance is from the road to the south, Rue de la Marine (School side). There are Library (to the west) and Rosary (to the east) houses on this side.
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Schema of elevation of the south side. 1922 — 1961 |
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PHOTO ID: 00001 SOURCE: ‘Sri Aurobindo Ashram: The Story of the Main Building’.- 1st ed.- Pondicherry.- 2008, p.3. |
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PHOTO ID: 00004 SOURCE: ‘Sri Aurobindo Ashram: The Story of the Main Building’.- 1st ed.- Pondicherry.- 2008, p.13. |
West SIDE
To the west is Rue Manakula Vinayagar Koil, earlier called Rue d'Orléans (Atelier side). There are Library House (to the south) and Cold Storage Block (to the north).
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Schema of elevation of the west side. 1922 — 2003 |
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PHOTO ID: 00044 SOURCE: ‘Sri Aurobindo Ashram: The Story of the Main Building’.- 1st ed.- Pondicherry.- 2008, p.94. |
North SIDE
To the north is Rue Saint Gilles (Balcony side). There are back facade of Cold Storage Block (to the west) and face facades of Prosperity Block, Balcony Block, Secretariat and Meditation House (enumerated from west to east).
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Schema of elevation of the north side. 1922 — 2000 |
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2001
PHOTO ID: 00009 SOURCE: ‘Sri Aurobindo Ashram: The Story of the Main Building’.- 1st ed.- Pondicherry.- 2008, p.19. |
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April 2004
PHOTO ID: 00071 SOURCE: “Sri Aurobindo Ashram: The Story of the Main Building”.- 1st ed.- Pondicherry.- 2008, p.139, |
East SIDE
To the east is Rue François Martin (Dispensary side). There are east facedes of Meditation House (to the north) and Rosary House (to the south).
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Schema of elevation of the east side. 1922 — 2000 |
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PHOTO ID: 00112 SOURCE: www.sriaurobindoashram.org |
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PHOTO ID: 00111 SOURCE: www.sriaurobindoashram.org |
In format YEAR. MONTH. DAY
Renting of the Library house. Prepaying for the rent of the Library house and its preparing. | |
1922.05/ |
Repairs of the Library house |
Library House is ready | |
1922.10.25 |
Sri Aurobindo and the Mother moved from 41 Rue François Martin (Guest House) to the Library House |
The first rental receipt for the Library House | |
Rosary House was rented | |
The Secretariat was rented | |
Decision on renting of the Meditation House | |
Meditation House was rented | |
Purchasing of Meditation House | |
Sri Aurobindo and the Mother moved from the Library House to the Meditation House. | |
Paying the final instalment for the Meditation House | |
1929.03.23 |
Secretariat was bought |
1929.04.06 |
Library House was bought |
1929.08 — 1932.04 |
Construction of the New Secretariat building |
1929.08 — 1930.10 |
Construction of the Balcony block |
Old Secretariat building was demolished | |
The first floor of the Library House was coming up | |
Mother's Salon was opened | |
The ground floor of the Secretariat was ready | |
The Prosperity block was ready | |
1932.09 |
Electrical wiring of the entire Prosperity block was completed |
1934.01.04 |
Removing of the Dining Room and Kitchen from the Library House |
1935.01-1935.08 |
The construction of the ground floor of the Cold Storage block |
1937.12 |
The Rosary House was purchased |
1948 |
The Fruit Room was built |
Mahasamadhi of Sri Aurobindo. Building of the Samadhi. | |
1953.12.9 |
The Mother's Room on the second floor of the Meditation House was built and Mother moved there |
1955 |
Abhay Singh's and Navajat's rooms on the terraces of the Rosary House were built |
Ravindra's rooms on the first floor of the Cold Storage Block were completed | |
The Mother's bathroom on the second floor of the Meditation House | |
The Mother's Music Room and balcony on the east of the Meditation House were completed |
MATERIALS & METHODS OF BUILDING
For the traditionally built houses in Pondicherry the same materials and method of construction were used. The walls were about 60 cm thick and made up of brickwork, with a layer of bricks in lime mortar after every few layers of bricks in mud mortar. The wall surface was plastered inside and outside with lime mortar. The floors were built according to the then existing method called Madras terracing. This method utilised heavy wooden main beams to support joists or smaller wooden beams. On this was laid a flooring about 20 cm thick made up of layers of thin bricks placed vertically in lime mortar and running diagonal to the joists. The final layer of bricks was placed horizontally and the top finished in lime mortar. The old buildings of the Library house, Meditation house and Rosary house were built in this way.
The new construction that took place on the north and west sides of the Ashram main building has load-bearing brick walls in cement mortar and not in mud mortar as in the older buildings. The notice board veranda and water filter passage have Madras terracing on steel joists. Pavitra's office and the garage for Mother's car have Madras terracing on wooden joists and beams. The north block consisting of Nirodbaran's room, the Bulletin Office and Dyuman's room has precast reinforced cement concrete rafters on which has been laid the reinforced cement concrete floor. In this block, semicircular arches in brickwork were made above the door and window openings. The Mother's Room on the second floor is built on reinforced cement concrete columns, beams and slabs. But the roofing for further extensions — the bathroom, the Music Room and the balcony on the east — were done with lightweight asbestos sheets. Similarly, for the extension on the south-east corner on the first floor (Abhay Singh's room) asbestos sheets were used. This was done to avoid heavy loads on the old walls below.
Ramakant Navelkar1
1 Ramakant Navelkar, Sri Aurobindo Ashram Drawing Office
1949
1922 — 1929
2001
