hese words were read out by The Mother on February 28, 1968 as representatives of 124 nations and all states of India placed handfuls of earth from their homelands into a marble-clad urn to symbolise human unity – the stated purpose behind the birth of Auroville, a self-governing, international city located 5 km off the coast of the Bay of Bengal. More than 5,000 people gathered on inauguration day at the amphitheatre that had been built along with Matrimandir [the Temple of The Mother] in what was to become the central core of the city, now known as the Peace Area. The Peace Area also contains 12 main gardens around Matrimandir [which are in varying stages of completion], peripheral green spaces and a surrounding lake, all planned by the late French architect Roger Anger, who had been appointed by The Mother to oversee the physical development of Auroville. The Matrimandir gardens are part of Anger’s Galaxy Plan and were each assigned a spiritual theme by The Mother, along with a list of flowers that she had chosen for them.