Special food had been cooked for dinner, including a large birthday cake. Just as the cake was brought out, the telephone rang. It was Hedi Mertens calling from Zurich. Baba went to talk with her through Norina, and some began eating their pieces of cake before he returned. Baba showed his disappointment about their mistake in etiquette; they should have waited until the Master gave permission to eat. To clear the air of their depressed feeling, Baba called all to his room and instructed them to keep silence with him for five minutes with their eyes closed. Presents were then given to Ruano and Adi Jr., the first one by Baba himself — a hearty embrace to both. Kitty put on an amusing skit when she came out dressed as Hitler and delivered a speech.
Meanwhile Consuelo and Alfredo Sides had invited Baba to Paris, along with the women mandali. On Sunday morning, 19 September 1937, he left at nine o'clock by car with Mehera, Mani, Khorshed, Naja, Kitty and Elizabeth. With instructions to meet them in Paris, Rano and Anita accompanied Soonamasi and Walu by train. Baba and the women spent one night at the town of Lyons and then drove on to Paris, stopping for a picnic on the way.
Mehera, Mani, Khorshed and Naja had orders that if they happened to see any man, they should look down immediately. Baba put Mani in Rano's care during the two days they spent in Paris, and Baba instructed her to be mindful not to let even Mani's clothes brush against any man's. Mani was only nineteen and, being lively by nature, would move quickly whenever they went out. It was a difficult duty for Rano, and her whole attention was focused on seeing that Mani did not inadvertently touch any man.
On the afternoon of the 21st, Gabriel Pascal, his companion Pauline and Roger Vieillard came to see Baba, at the Sideses' apartment at 1 rue Gît-le-Cœur where Baba and the women were staying.1 While in Paris, Baba took the women sightseeing, taking a boat ride down the Seine, visiting the "International Exposition of Art and Technology in Modern Life" which was being held at the time, and also the Cathedral of Notre Dame.2 But wherever they went, there were always so many men about that the Eastern women had to pass by these places with their heads bowed and did not view any of the sights of interest.
Footnotes
- 1.The street where Alfredo and Consuelo Sides lived, rue Gît-le-Cœur, in French, means the resting place of the heart, or there lies the heart.
- 2.Forty-five countries participated and more than 31 million people visited this World Expo during its six-month duration.