Unusual for a mast, he wore fine, clean clothes and was from a good family. The saint would wander the streets of Delhi by night, and sit in the street by day. Because of his wandering all over the vast city, he was difficult to contact, but Baba eventually found him by a well early in the morning and they had their contact.
Baba then proceeded on to Kashmir. At one point along the journey, Chanji met up with the group.1 Since Rano had no traveling permit, she was forbidden from crossing into Kashmir. Chanji took her to the proper office in Domel, where she told the officials that she had applied for the permit, but she had not yet received it. Rano then returned and went with Baba to the telegraph office to inquire further. The clerk listened to her explanations, but failed to check the file. Baba signaled to Rano to insist on seeing the file. At last, the clerk admitted, "The permit is received, but we cannot show it to anyone before it is sent to the proper office." Chanji remunerated him for his trouble (gave him some baksheesh ), as Baba wished. The permit was taken to the office, and Rano was allowed to proceed.
They arrived in Srinagar on Friday evening, 18 August 1944. The other mandali had arrived three days before. Although Chanji had a high fever and was weak, he still managed to hire a large, secluded bungalow which was under construction six miles from Srinagar in Nishat (or Shalimar) on Guptaganja Road.2 The bungalow, Bhagat Villa , belonged to a man named Karamchand Bhagat. It had a large compound, modern sanitary fittings, and a separate cottage in which the mandali could be accommodated. However, since it was not yet ready, all had to stay in the Majestic Hotel in Srinagar for a week.
Dr. Daulat Singh, who was an influential doctor in Srinagar, had been spreading Meher Baba's messages in the Srinagar area, and three people had been brought into the Master's orbit as a result: Trailokya Nath Dhar, P. N. Ganjoo and Was Deo Kain. All three were eager for Baba's darshan. Dhar, in fact, heard that Baba was staying at the Majestic and went there to meet him on the 19th. Since Baba was traveling incognito, he was informed that there was no one at the hotel by that name.
Dhar did not give up and asked a young boy working at the hotel if there was a guest there with long hair and a moustache. The boy at once replied, "Yes, there is a deaf and dumb Maharaja staying on the top floor." A moment later, Baba stuck his head out of an upstairs window and Dhar had his first glimpse of his Beloved. Baba permitted him a few minutes meeting and Dhar became a follower for life.
Footnotes
- 1.Chanji may have been waiting for them at Delhi, or joined them at the frontier border.
- 2.One of Chanji's final entries in his diary, dated 9 August 1944, is labeled (without further explanation): "The Hardest Trial."