The next day, they were to visit Baba in Panchgani, but they were so preoccupied with other matters to be discussed that when they arrived they completely forgot about Iqbal's demise. But, pointing to one of the hairs on his head, the first thing Baba dictated on the board to them were the Urdu words, " Mera ek baal gaya," meaning, "I have lost one of my hairs." For some moments Ramjoo and Ghani looked blank, and it was only when Baba repeated what he had dictated and added, "Don't you fellows understand?" that they caught Baba's use of the words ek baal (one hair) rhyming with Iqbal . Baba had expressed his sense of loss, but also the insignificance of it by comparing it to the loss of a hair.
As mentioned, Chanji and Pendu had been sent by Baba to Bangalore, Mysore and Madras on 15 April to discuss with the Dewan, Sir Mirza Ismail, the possibility of opening a center in Bangalore. After meeting with Sir Mirza, they returned to Panchgani on the 22nd. Hearing their report, Baba expressed his desire to personally confer with Ismail and inspect the possible sites. He left Panchgani the following afternoon in Elizabeth's car with Norina, Chanji and Pendu. They drove to the Poona railway station and boarded the 6:30 P.M. train for Bangalore.1 They arrived on the evening of 24 April 1938, and just as they stepped off the train, Age observed that nature greeted Baba with a heavy shower of rain.
Baba and the group stayed at Sampath Aiyangar's house in Shankarapuram, and the following day Norina and Chanji were sent to talk with Sir Mirza, who received them cordially. He was most interested in Norina's experiences with Baba. After they returned, Baba went to Cubbon House (a palatial royal residence) to visit for half an hour with Sir and Lady Akbar Hyderi and her sister.2 Sir Akbar asked about Gandhi and Baba remarked:
Gandhi and Jinnah are both great souls, but they worry because they want results. One must try sincerely to do his duties, but results must always be left to God. Worrying about the results is not good; it's of no use. If one wishes to do anything for others, one must do it sincerely, and having done it, should not worry about the results. For results are not in human hands. It is for humans to do, but for God to ordain.
Footnotes
- 1.Elizabeth returned to Panchgani.
- 2.Cubbon House later became the governor of Mysore's residence and a state guesthouse, and is now called Raj Bhavan.