Mohanam Cultural Center

The Mohanam Community Center was founded in 2001. It was a vision started by a group of young men from the surrounding villages of Auroville.These men witnessed a changing world, where their rich cultural past was slowly vanishing. They dreamed of creating a meeting place for traditional culture to harmonize with the culture of our contemporary world. Auroville is a pioneering social experiment that aims to realize human unity located in rural Tamil Nadu, India (www.auroville.org)

Mohanam works to enliven the traditional Tamil culture while creating a bridge with our changing world. We believe in revitalizing tradition through education, empowerment, awareness, creativity, the arts, cultural integration, community and sustainable development.

We feel that Mohanam's activities reflect the richness and diversity of Tamil culture as well as contemporary cultures, constantly evolving and offering new possibilities. We believe culture is an expression of the soul. A manifestation of the divine force through artistic expression. One of the main pillars of Mohanam is empowerment of the youth within the villages. We see art and cultural expression as a key medium for promoting the positive impact youth can have on the world. As well as giving them a place to develop their divine expression through their creativity. We firmly believe that young people play a significant role in addressing social issues and that a space should be provided for self expression among them.

Throughout the years Mohanam has worked towards being a bridge between Auroville and the surrounding villages. A place where all people, of different cultures, caste, ages, and genders can share their knowledge and experiences. In hopes to create space where the past and the future.