{"id":71,"date":"2019-11-19T04:16:47","date_gmt":"2019-11-19T04:16:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sitkatheme.com\/classic\/?p=71"},"modified":"2021-02-26T10:20:33","modified_gmt":"2021-02-26T05:50:33","slug":"work-in-auroville-antonello-from-gastronomica","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adventure.auroville.com\/index.php\/2019\/11\/19\/work-in-auroville-antonello-from-gastronomica\/","title":{"rendered":"Traditional Italian Pasta in Auroville: Antonello from Gastronomica"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Never to Return<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Antonello was not greatly impressed the first time he came to Auroville. The outer reality was not what he had thought it would be, and he had no intention to stick around. \u201cThe first time I came to Auroville was around 20 years ago to learn about Ayurvedic massage. I spent one month here and I said, \u2018I will never, ever return.\u2019 Somehow I returned every year after that until 2014, when I stayed.\u201d In the first few years, Antonello worked in his old profession as a masseur, which he mostly did for free. When the time came to find a way to support himself and his family, he decided to make a switch: \u201cI had always cooked so I thought, why not do it professionally? In 2016 I started to manage a small restaurant at Joy Guest House in Auroville with my friends, it was called \u2018Dolce Vita.\u2019 We had pasta and pizza night and many other happenings, but we had to close after seven months because some neighbours complained. I learned so much during this period about business and the reality in Auroville.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this time, he connected deeper to Auroville, seeking to relate to what Auroville stands for more inside himself than expecting to find it in the community. \u201cWhen I came here, I thought this would be a place where everyone is sharing and closely knit to each other. At some point I realized that we are not this kind of community. The spiritual work is very personal; it is happening very deeply inside every single person. Connect with yourself first and make yourself happy, then this is something you bring into the community. But the community is not a \u2018happy\u2019 one. I did not find what I was looking for when I came here\u2026 I found something with more value. The vision of Auroville is so different from what you might see around, in the reality of Auroville, but to connect with the vision is so much more powerful. To step back and connect with your inner being, to connect with the real way of Auroville and the reason one is here is very important to me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n