In the Andhra programs, bananas literally rained down upon Baba. Whenever he was on his way from one place to another, people would stand on the roadside for darshan; and as he was about to leave, they would hurl bananas on his car, reasoning that at least their offering would make contact with him. Similarly, later in Hamirpur rice and flowers were thrown at Baba, as people would do when worshiping deities in the temple. In their intense joy, people forgot that Meher Baba was not made of earth and clay, like their idols and statues, but was God in human form!
On Friday, 30 January 1953, Baba arrived at 8:00 A.M. in Dhond, where Adi Sr. was waiting with his car. He drove Baba and Eruch to Meherazad. Meherjee and Nariman stayed on the train and proceeded to Bombay, and the rest of the mandali continued to Ahmednagar by a different train. When they arrived, Sidhu went to Meherabad, Chhagan and Ramjoo returned to their homes in Ahmednagar, Sadashiv Patil left for Poona, Yeshwant Rao to Sakori and the rest of the men went to Meherazad.
While driving from Dhond, Adi made a wrong turn, which resulted in a 40-mile detour. Baba often gestured to Adi to drive faster. The darshan tour in Andhra had been physically exhausting, and Baba was anxious to rest. To make things even worse, the car had a flat tire just when Meherazad was in view, further delaying their arrival.
A day or two after his arrival, Baba sent Eruch back to Andhra, ostensibly to deliver a message to a certain couple to whom Baba had promised a child.
He explained: "I want Eruch to go back and convey the message that my blessings may be fruitful not in the immediate future but perhaps after some years or maybe in their next life."
Eruch obeyed, although he too was very tired after the strenuous traveling. When he arrived in Andhra he was asked, "Is it true that Meher Baba has been arrested?" It seems that someone had started such a rumor, and Baba wished Eruch to put an end to this.
After meeting with the women mandali, and then Don, Kaka and Krishna Nair, Baba left Meherazad for Poona on 4 February for an X-ray of his leg, which was still paining him. Mehera, Mani and Goher accompanied him. He had been traveling with this pain under rigorous conditions for 35 continuous days in the north and south of India.