Diverse themes interlock with the ideal of human unity at second Auroville Litfest

The interlocking of science, spirituality, esoteric knowledge and modern management concepts with the ideal of global human unity is a central theme of the Auroville Literature Festival (ALF) that is under way at the universal township.

The second edition of ALF, which assembles an array of eminent scholars, writers, and thinkers from across the globe, is a reaffirmation of Auroville’s commitment to literature, cultural dialogue, and the ideal of human unity, Jayanti S. Ravi, Auroville Foundation Secretary and Gujarat Additional Chief Secretary, told a press conference alongside Puducherry Chief Secretary Sharat Chauhan, on Tuesday (December 16, 2025).

The event is being hosted by Auroville from December 15 to December 21 with the support of Ministry of Culture and Government of Puducherry.

The festival features a unique linguistic convergence of Sanskrit, Tamil, French, and English, which are the four official languages designated by Auroville founder and spiritual collaborator of Sri Aurobindo, The Mother.

While Sanskrit was envisioned as the universal language of the township, Tamil represents the language of the land on which Auroville stands with French reflecting The Mother’s origins and historical connections with erstwhile Pondicherry and English serving as the international language of this global experiment, the Secretary said.

With around 60 nationalities represented in Auroville, the festival serves as a vibrant platform for cross-cultural understanding through translations and world literature. The week-long event has a diverse schedule of keynotes, panel discussions, book launches, and cultural performances across multiple venues in Auroville.

Celebrating the literary legacy of Sri Aurobindo as a profound interpreter of the Vedas and author of the epic Savitri, is a central focus of the festival, Ms. Ravi said.

The Sanskrit segment (December 15 and 16), which commenced the fete with Vedic chanting and a keynote by Sampadananda Mishra on ‘Sri Aurobindo on Sanskrit’, included a session on ‘The Unbreakable Logic’ by V. Ramanathan and a workshop on discovering Sanskrit through The Mother’s verses.

The two-day Tamil section of the festival begins on December 17 with a keynote by S. Ramachandran on ‘The Secret of the Vedas’. The highlights, include a discussion on the Kamba Ramayana by S. Jagannathan and Jatayu, and a session on ‘Cultural portrayal in Tamil Literature’.

The French segment that runs concurrently features a discussion on Romain Rolland and Rabindranath Tagore with theatre personalities Pravin Kannanur and Jean Paul Sermadiras.

Other notable sessions, include a dialogue on the ‘Gift Economy’ (La Revolution du don) and dramatic readings ranging from Baudelaire to contemporary poets.

The three-day English component of the festival at the Unity Pavilion will have a session on ‘Conscious Capitalism’, featuring Sridhar Vembu, Zoho founder and Harsh Gupta, investment banker, former Indian envoys Navtej Sarna and T.S. Tirumurti leading a discussion on ‘Navigating the breakdown of the world order’ and a session ‘From Shiva to Schrödinger’ by Mrittunjay Guha Majumdar focusing on Trika Shaivism and quantum insights.

Poets Arundhati Subramaniam (’The gallery of upside down women’) and Gayatri Majumdar (From Auroville and the world) take the stage for a session while author Chandrachud Ghose speaks at a special session on ‘Sri Aurobindo and Netaji’.

A tribute session to Kireet Joshi, former chairman of the Auroville Foundation will be marked by the release of the Zonal Development Plans for Auroville.

The event is open to the public, said organisers who are also keen on attracting youth and children from across the region. In fact, the festival has one section devoted to children that includes readings of the ‘Cactus Wants a Gug’ by Neil Flory and ‘A Tree in My Stomach’ by Nandita Rao.

A ‘sound bath’ by Svaram, Silambam and Kalaripayattu demonstrations, a musical presentation of Savitri by Shree Vaidehi and cultural performances are among the sidelights.