Baba went out to contact masts in Madras on 14 January, covering long distances on foot. One good mast was found living in the home of a Hindu, another in a mosque. A third mast contacted was Moti Baba, with whom Baba had worked before. When Baba initially went to contact this mast, he was not allowed in the house. Moti Baba was residing in a wealthy Muslim's home in the beach area, and it was with much difficulty that Baba was finally able to reach him.
After contacting him, Baba came out greatly pleased and urged the mandali, "Go inside immediately and see Moti Baba. Be quick. You are now going to have a feast!"
They found out later that when Baba was contacting the mast, Moti Baba had said, "Now, let them [the mandali] eat; feed them." Baba had forbidden the mandali to eat or drink that day until his work was completed.
That night, Baba again imposed a ban on sleeping. The ten men were forbidden to sleep for the next 36 hours. They accompanied Baba the next day in search of masts, traveling by buses and tram cars. After working with Moti Baba, Baba slackened his pace, and the only noteworthy contact made was a mast named Arab Shah. Thus, the mast work in Madras came to an abrupt end. Again, Baba's presence in Madras was kept a secret so that none of the local devotees would come and disturb his work.
Cries of "Avatar Meher Baba ki jai!" were reverberating throughout Andhra Pradesh a month prior to Baba's arrival, and Andhra can proudly lay claim to being the first place where Meher Baba was openly proclaimed as the Avatar. Until now, the phrase "Sadguru Meher Baba ki jai," or "Shri Meher Baba ki jai" was the typical chorus chanted by the crowds at each halting place. But since many in Andhra accepted Baba as the Avatar, it was the first place to publicly laud him as such.
While elaborate preparations for the Avatar's reception were taking place in Andhra, in Madras Baba created a storm of turmoil on the night of 15 January 1953. The mandali were sleeping well that night, but Baba had no rest. Yet when he did fall asleep for a little while in the early hours of the morning, he was disturbed by their muted movements, as the group was to make an early start for Andhra that day.