Matrimandir: an Incredible Feat of Engineering and Labor
Visiting Matrimandir is the highlight of your visit to Pondicherry. The calmness of this place gets you is beyond words. The selfless dedication of the volunteers, the spotlessly clean interiors, cool atmosphere inside the Matrimandir has a very calming effect on your mind. The atmosphere inside just catapults you in a peaceful zone. The restlessness within just disappears. “I enjoyed the visit so much that I returned to sit here again and they let you do that, although you may not be able to go to the visitors section”, says Janhavi our guest who is a frequent traveller who loves to visit and explore the places.
Great monument built by a superb initiative called Auroville. Please note that the Matrimandir is not a ‘tourist’ site; it is a place for individual silent concentration. A place which should be visited in a quiet physical and mental state.
This is a once in lifetime sight. What an incredible feat of engineering and labor! Be prepared that not everyone is allowed.
Visits to Matrimandir and to its Viewing Point are free of cost. Bookings for passes to Matrimandir and to the Viewing Point must be done in person and cannot be done by agents, guides, tour operators, autorickshaw/taxi drivers etc. If not done the booking in advance you can just visit the view point. The view of the Matrimandir from the view point is great. The garden around it is beautiful though it is still under development.
The Matrimandir Viewing Point, south of the Park of Unity, is a raised garden area which offers visitors a beautiful view of the Matrimandir and its surroundings.
A shaded 10-12 minute walk leads from the Visitors' Centre to the Viewing Point. A free electric shuttle service is available for those who may find it difficult to walk the approx. 1 km distance each way. Free bus service is available for the return journey from the Viewing Point to the Visitors Centre for all those who wish to avail of it.
First visit to the Matrimandir Inner Chamber: Please note the following points
- Prior booking is required to access the Matrimandir for concentration at least a day or two in advance.
- All bookings are accepted on an individual basis only.
- Booking must be made in person by the individual seeking to concentrate in the Matrimandir at the Visitors’ Centre Booking Office, any day except Tuesday between 10 and 11 am or 2 and 3 pm, after seeing the 10 minute introductory video called "Matrimandir".
- E-mail and telephone booking are not available for first-time visitors for concentration.
- There are no group bookings available.
- Bookings are always made for the following or first free day as per availability, and are accepted only up to a week in advance.
- Matrimandir and all its booking services are closed on Tuesdays.
An introduction to Matrimandir is provided for all first-time visitors who book for concentration. An explanation is given on the Matrimandir and its significance, followed by a concentration in the Inner Chamber for about 15 minutes.
Visitors who have previously concentrated in the Matrimandir: The following conditions apply to regular visitors for concentration and to those who have already attended the introductory visit for concentration in the Matrimandir
- Advance booking is required for every concentration in the Inner Chamber or Petal Meditation Rooms.
- A booking may be made by telephone call to the office of Mantimandir between 10 am and 11.30 am any day except Tuesday or by email to mmconcentration@auroville.org.in from 3 to 7 days in advance. Confirmation of such bookings is done by return mail with booking numbers and other details.
- Concentration time in the Inner Chamber 9.30 to 10.00 am. Last entry allowed into the Inner Chamber: 9.45 am.
- Concentration time in one of the Petal Meditation Rooms 9.00 am to 10.45 am.
- The 12 meditation rooms are normally open all at the same time, but occasionally only a few may be open on a particular day.
- Passes are issued for only one Petal per visit.
Note:
- On the day of appointment, passes for concentration are issued at the Visitors Centre and shortly before departure to Matrimandir. Those with a booking are required to reach the Visitors Centre no later than 8.45 am, from where they will be taken to Matrimandir by one of the Auroville shuttles.
- Late comers: please note that it is not possible to accommodate late comers.
- Parking: visitors are required to park their vehicles at the Visitors' Centre Parking and avail themselves of the free shuttle service provided.
- After concentration, the last shuttle back from the Matrimandir to the Visitors' Centre is at about 11.30 am.
- Bags, cameras and cell phones etc., are not allowed within the Park of Unity (the Matrimandir Gardens). Visitors are advised not to bring valuables with them.
- Touching any surface inside the structures is to be avoided. Cleanliness of body and garments is indispensable.
- Children below 10 are not allowed inside the Park of Unity and the Matrimandir.
General information on the Matrimandir can be obtained every day at the Information Desk at the Visitors Centre, 9.00 am-1.00 pm and 1.30 pm–5.00 pm. This includes an introductory video on the Matrimandir offered in various languages.
If you have some more time available for exploring other aspects of Auroville, on the way back a small diversion is possible through the International Zone, with interesting locations like Savitri Bhavan, Unity Pavilion, Bharat Nivas, Tibetan Pavilion, Inuksuk, and then back to Visitors Centre. (Duration around 2 hours)
Source: auroville.org
