In England at this time, a scandal was brewing when the King of England, Edward VIII, was revealed to be having an affair with Wallis Warfield Simpson, an American suing her husband for divorce. On 6 December 1936, Baba remarked that it would be good on the part of the king to give up his crown to marry the woman he professed to love, rather than prove false to his promise to marry her.1
"That would be a real mardi [heroic act]," Baba stated.
On 8 December, Norina, Elizabeth, Jean and Malcolm, along with Rano and Nonny arrived in Bombay on the steamer Elysia . They brought two dogs with them — Elizabeth's Boston terrier Kippy , and Anita's white Siberian husky Canute , which she had given to Baba in Switzerland.
About 50 Bombay lovers gathered at the docks to receive the Americans. Rustom and Freiny were there and, acting as their hosts, took them to the Majestic Hotel. Although the group was tired, they had been ordered by Baba to register at the American Consulate, go sightseeing in Bombay and then to go to a movie that night.
The next day, Rustom drove the group to Igatpuri since the facilities at Meher Retreat in Nasik were not yet ready. Another person drove a white V-8 Ford that Elizabeth had brought on the ship (along with a trailer). Baba was driven to Igatpuri by Adi Sr. to greet them on the morning of the 10th, and he then returned to Nasik.2 That afternoon, the group also visited the Nasik ashram and, after seeing where they would be staying, returned to Igatpuri.
When Baba visited his American lovers, he was wearing his old patched kamli wool coat.
His pockets were stuffed with letters and telegrams, and Baba smilingly pulled out some, and quipped, "This is my post office!"
After two days, the group went to stay at a bungalow in Bhandardara where the climate was cooler and more comfortable. From Nasik, Baba came to stay at Bhandardara for five days on 14 December, accompanied by Bhagirath. Two days later, Garrett, Nadine Tolstoy and Grand Duchess Marie Pavlovna arrived from America on the Conte Verde .
Grand Duchess Marie, 46, was an acquaintance of Nadine's, a Russian aristocrat of the Romanov family who had likewise immigrated to America.
Footnotes
- 1.Five days later, Edward abdicated his throne, and he and Simpson were married the following June.
- 2.Adi Sr. was staying in Nasik to help speed the construction and plumbing work, along with Naval.