Ghani was so indolent that he would at times go to sleep with his clothes on and even shoes on to save himself the trouble of putting them back on in the morning. To awaken him, Baba would come personally to his room and knock on his door.
In 1927, a few years after beginning his silence, Baba had stopped writing. However, he had continued to read his mail, and occasionally the newspapers, himself. But after his return from the mast trip at the end of November 1948, Baba stopped reading anything. From then on, if he wished to go over any letter, telegram or note, it would be read out to him.
Several visitors came to Meherazad in December 1948 to see Baba. Among them were Daulat Singh again, with his son Upkar, Kharmen Masi's son Homi, Jal Rusi and Kishan Singh. Pappa Jessawala came on 4 December with fruit trees to be planted at Meherazad.
Baba told him, "You will be doing a great service to me if you can manage to sell off the Byramangala lands."
Pappa had been asked to do this before, but the matter was still unresolved. A power-of-attorney from Baba was executed and given to Pappa for this purpose.1
In Pimpalgaon a village woman died after giving birth to a baby boy named after the saint Gorakhnath. Baba had the child brought to Meherazad and instructed Goher to look after the baby. After ten or twelve days, Baba sent the baby to Meherabad with instructions for Khorshed to raise him. Dr. Nilu became the infant's private pediatrician, and Gorakhnath was brought up like a prince. Tinned milk for him was specially ordered from Meherjee in Bombay, and also costly clothes and other items. Baba would see Gorakhnath on his occasional visits to Meherabad, and Nilu and Khorshed faced his stern rebuke if the child developed the slightest cold or illness.
During this period, Baba asked Goher to keep and breed ducks in a small pond in Meherazad. Goher was an allopathic physician, and although she knew how to care for a baby, she was at a loss when it came to serving as a foster mother to ducks. Still, by consulting a reference book, she became astute on the subject and carried out her duty using the latest methods in animal husbandry.
Once when the bazaar man was about to leave for his daily purchases, Goher discovered she needed more feed for her wards.
Footnotes
- 1.Papa was successful in selling the property in February 1949 for Rs.23,673.14. Out of the total parcel of land, Venkoba Rao managed to raise enough to purchase a small portion, which included the foundation-laying site and the few single-room structures.