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Rang

Red earth and a golden sphere

Auroville

An experimental township on red earth near Pondicherry, centred on the golden globe of the Matrimandir.

The town hall of Auroville, Pondicherry, India.
Photo: Kaspar Konrad, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Why Auroville is laterite red

Auroville was founded in 1968 near Pondicherry as a township meant for people of all countries. It was started by Mirra Alfassa, known as the Mother, a follower of Sri Aurobindo. The site was a worn plateau of bare red earth. Residents have since planted millions of trees, so red paths now run through green forest. Many buildings use blocks pressed from the same earth. At the centre is the Matrimandir, a large sphere for silent concentration. Its outer skin is covered with golden discs, made by sealing gold leaf inside glass. The structure was completed in 2008 after decades of work. It stands beside an old banyan tree.

Laterite red#A84B2FMatrimandir gold#D4AF37Forest green#3F6B3ABanyan grey#8C857A

Values are fair approximations of what the eye sees there, not measurements.

Colours tied to Auroville

GoldA strong yellow named for the precious metal and often linked with wealth and first place
About this page

Written by the Rang desk with AI assistance. Background: "Auroville" on Wikipedia. If you know Auroville and we have it wrong, tell us.

More colour cities

All colour cities
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ The Blue CityJodhpurOld-city houses washed in blue crowd the foot of Mehrangarh Fort, on the edge of the Thar Desert.๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ The Pink CityJaipurThe walled city wears a dusty terracotta pink, first painted on for a royal visit in 1876 and kept ever since.๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ The White CityUdaipurWhite palaces and whitewashed houses stand around lakes in the Aravalli hills of southern Rajasthan.๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ The Golden CityJaisalmerA fort and town built of yellow sandstone that glows like honey at sunset, deep in the Thar Desert.๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ City of saffron and lightVaranasiSaffron robes, marigold garlands and oil lamps colour the river steps of one of the oldest living cities.๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ Town of Holi coloursVrindavanFor Holi the temple town of Krishna's childhood fills with clouds of pink, yellow and green powder.

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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Every Monday: seven colours you may not know, what the world is wearing this week, and one idea about colour.