Rano stood quietly but thought: "What is this? I've been called to listen to a kettle boil?"
Seeing her expression, Baba spelled out, "It is not the fact of the kettle's singing that is of importance, but that I thought of you — that I thought to call you."
When Norina, Kitty and Rano began staying at Meherabad, Baba ordered them again not to mention the name of any man in front of the Eastern women mandali and, similarly, not to mention any of their names in front of the men. The same instructions had been given them earlier when they would visit Meherabad from the Nasik ashram. One day, while Baba, Rano and Vishnu were discussing a matter, Rano mentioned Mani's name by mistake.
Baba became upset and scolded her, "Never commit such a fault again! Don't you remember what I tell you? Don't you listen to me when I give you certain instructions? Or don't you take it seriously?"
As Age noted, "Baba kept the women mandali completely secluded, most of all for Mehera's sake. It was necessary to keep Mehera secluded for Baba's inner work with creation. Mehera was the Queen of the Garden and her example of service to the Beloved nourished the other saplings in the Garden."
After Baba's return from France, he was occupied in his mast and mad work in lower Meherabad. Ramjoo and Kaka Baria arrived for a meeting of the Trust at Meherabad on Monday, 29 November 1937, which Norina also attended.
Baba had given Kitty duties in the kitchen. While she tried to teach Naja English, Naja was teaching her cooking. The work was difficult for Kitty, as Indian meals vary greatly from Western fare and much is involved in preparing them. Kitty had to sit for hours by the smoking kerosene stove learning to make chapatis. One day Kitty was thinking sadly: "I haven't come to India for this! I can do such work at home. I've come to be with Baba, but I hardly see him."
That very evening, while conversing with the women, Baba remarked, as if for Kitty, "Whatever work I ask you to do is my work, and she who does it according to my wish is performing the greatest penance! Compared to it, meditation, seclusion, fasts and austerities are nothing!"
Kitty took Baba's words to heart and proved most useful for his work. The strenuous work she did for him, while remaining with him in India for years, and then at a distance in America for many years, is an example of her unflinching sense of duty and obedience .