Gajendran

Gajendran Karunanidhi suddenly passed away on July 1st due to cardiac arrest.

Gajendran (known in Auroville as Gaje) was born in Pondicherry in 1963, and joined Auroville in 1987. His father was a police officer when Pondicherry became a Union Territory, and initially Gaje trained as a police officer as well. His father then realised that Gaje was meant for something else, and suggested that he go to Auroville. From the start Gaje worked at the Matrimandir, in various areas and lately as a garden maintenance coordinator. He worked there nonstop till the end, 35 years later. In 1996 he saw the need to create a kitchen to provide food for the units of the Industrial Zone such as Shadhanjali, Aurosarjan, Auromode and Imagination, and with the support of Prema of Auromode and Abha of Shradhanjali started the GP cafe, to which he, together with his wife Latha, and his son Auroananda and his daughter Nithya up to his last days dedicated all his time and energy when not at Matrimandir. He took great care to make the lunches affordable for people on maintenance. He was also much into fitness routines. In the early years he used to teach gymnastics at Certitude. And before he trained to be in the police he worked more than 3 years with Ilayaraja Music Director for several of his films. He was always proud of that past.

People remember him as a gentle, very dedicated person. Many people visited his house at Prayatna and attended his funeral at Adventure on July 2nd.

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This page has been published in order to create a space of remembrance for all of those who lived, struggled and enjoyed in Auroville, making a conscious effort to manifest the Dream of Human Unity that is in the process of emerging.