Baba then gave some spiritual explanations and commented on his spiritual status, the divine duties he was obligated to perform in the future, and the consequent suffering and difficulties he would have to undergo.
According to Baba's instructions, Sadashiv Patil had erected a thatched hut in a barren field surrounded by mango and sitaphul trees along Fergusson College Road, near Chatursinghji.1 Sadashiv met Baba at the Poona station on Friday, 27 January 1922 and took him directly to the hut. Baba was pleased.
He smiled, patted Sadashiv on the back, and said, " Shabash [Well done]!"
The owner of the property turned out to be one of his school friends and he refused to accept any money in rent when he discovered who was to use the land.
Baba began staying at the Jhopdi. This bucolic spot soon took on a festive appearance and became known to the local residents and passersby as the abode of "the Irani saint" Meher Baba. The humble hut was tent-shaped, composed of bamboo and straw with an earthen floor; it was ten feet in length and about five feet wide and eight feet high, big enough for two persons to be inside. There was a straw door that could be latched. The Master would occupy the hut only at night for rest. During the day, he would relax outside under the shade of a tree; people would gather around him and much of the time was spent in singing Hindi bhajans or Urdu ghazals. At times, games of gilli-danda and atya-patya were played, and at other times he would discourse on spiritual subjects and the path to realizing God. No one was allowed inside the hut. Only Baily would be with Baba during the night as a watchman; but after a while, Arjun Supekar (the tobacconist) also began sharing the nightwatch duty.
Early in the morning Baba would have tea and breakfast brought by Khodu (his childhood friend). By nine o'clock, the rest of the Kasba Peth men would come and entertain the Master with singing, led by Arjun. By 10:30 A.M., Baba would walk with his followers to pick up his mail at the toddyshop, a mile or so away in Kasba Peth. Baba would then walk to his family's house, at 765 Butler Mohalla, for lunch. After relaxing for a short while with his father, mother, brothers, and baby sister, he would return to the hut where he would read the newspapers and dictate to Baily brief replies to correspondence.
Footnotes
- 1.The hut was constructed opposite Moti Baug, a well-known bungalow at the time.