Situated at the periphery of the Matrimandir gardens is the site of the Garden of the Unexpected, a garden for children for when their parents are visiting the Inner Chamber, or for those days when the Inner Chamber is open only to children. In the words of the late Roger Anger, the Chief Architect of Auroville, this garden should be “A place where a child could have an initiatory experience, a place of wonder, a garden for discovering the unexpected.”
The Garden of the Unexpected consists of four sections: The Garden of Birth, The Garden of Adolescence, The Garden of Youthfulness and The Garden of the Eternal Child.
This garden is about birth, joy and magic. An entrance portal defined by large granite boulders opens to a Wisdom tree. The path weaves through carefully curated low maintenance plants with randomly placed stones for seating. There is a natural lily pond (self-maintaining) with the sound of a fountain. An owl etched in the granite boulder overlooks the garden as children and adults put their head in the humming stone. As children have a tendency to put whatever they find into their mouth, the team has taken great care to only plant trees with edible fruits such as amla, kumquat, rose apple, jamun and bel, and safe to eat herbs such as brahmi and tulsi in all the gardens. A gentle slope wide enough for a wheelchair or pram marks the exit of the garden and leads to the Garden of Adolescence.
This garden is about hiding, creating and building. The entrance has a foyer of large granite boulders, and a pathway made from leftover granite pieces during the construction of Matrimandir meanders through a butterfly garden with splashes of scarlet, orange and yellow. Jasmine flowers flavour the air. One gently descends to a spacious garden filled with pebbles and rocks, where children play. This area is also used for rainwater harvesting. A bridge across this large open space with laterite boulders and laterite stone benches for parents to watch over the children playing in the garden completes the ensemble.
This garden is about the struggle of retaining the playfulness and creativity of a child as we learn and grow. One enters the garden past high laterite menhirs (also found on the Matrimandir premises hiding in the bushes) on to a pathway that intertwines between four mature neem trees. The shade of the trees invites the visitors to pause and rest on the limestone rocks. The smell of the aromatic herbs planted in the Edible Curative Garden on the right waft through the breeze. A bit further on the highest point and on an axis to the Matrimandir is the copper-roofed Monsoon Pavilion, a place to retreat into and enjoy the rain. ‘Juanita’s rock’, a huge rock that came from Juanita’s garden in Felicity, provides the flooring. The pavilion is situated in a garden of pebbles whose area is precisely defined as a Shalagram – a symbolical connection to the Matrimandir’s section. A gurgling brook in natural limestone rocks with fossils descends from the square pond next to the rock, to join a 5 mm deep lower pond at the base of the garden like a deep reflecting pool ending the journey of the stream. Both the pools are designed for children of all ages to play in or simply dip their feet in. A large wind chime gently adds to the sensorial experience of the space. A tree platform is hanging deftly from one of neem trees affording a bird’s eye view of the garden and good breeze at any time of the day. Children are seen doing their homework here. Low hanging limestone rocks oscillate from the branches of the tree creating a mesmerizing experience with gravity of the earth. Granite stepping stones signal the entry into the Garden of Eternal Child.
This garden’s main feature is a grass covered area, encircled by beautiful 1.5 feet thick yellow cuddapah stone benches. Its 24 metres diameter is similar to that of the Matrimandir’s Inner Chamber, while the stone encirclement has been inspired by the low granite benches that used to surround the Banyan Tree long ago. The area is used for gatherings and for group plays. This garden is the largest of the four and has the vast open view of the Matrimandir, the Banyan Tree and the amphitheater to the left. A grove of mixed indigenous low watering shrubs and trees as well as many plumerias brought from the Matrimandir nursery which were awaiting their final destination since years, complete this garden.
Source Auroville Today Published October 2022
Issue № 399 Author Carel
https://auroville.today/articles/3333/the-garden-of-the-unexpected
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