Meanwhile, Baba called the men inside. Nariman and Arnavaz Dadachanji had come from Bombay for a few days and had brought mangoes. Baba distributed one mango each to Baidul, Don, Eruch, Gustadji, Kaikobad, Kaka, Nilu, Pendu, Savak and Vishnu, telling them to save it and eat it the following day.1 Baba sent for Krishna, who, when he walked in, looked like a corpse. His eyes were white.
Handing him a mango Baba ordered him, "Eat this immediately!"
Krishna ate it and soon after vomited the pills. Feeling very ill, he could hardly stand and he was shaking.
When he came to Baba's room in the evening for his duty, Baba asked, "What is the matter with you today?"
Krishna kept quiet, and only after Baba's repeated questioning did he admit the truth.
Baba was furious. He called Goher and instructed her to give Krishna some medicine. Baba handed him a bottle of orange soda and told him to drink it.
He then stated, "Press my foot and do not let up even for a moment!"
Feeling very weak, Krishna could barely sit up, but managed to massage Baba's foot as ordered. A number of hours passed. At 4 A.M., Savak led Krishna to his room where he slept the entire day. Baba came and woke him up at 6:30 P.M. and asked how he was feeling. He was his normal self again. With a mango, Baba had saved him from an ignoble death!
Baba forgave Krishna, but he did receive a punishment. The next morning, Baba called the mandali and revealed what had transpired. He asked for suggestions as to what punishment Krishna should receive for his foolish act. Baba himself decided that, instead of two meals a day, Krishna should eat only one meal a day for an entire year, which Krishna did.
Baba had stopped seeing people in Mahabaleshwar and was not granting private interviews or meeting with anyone. At the time, a resident of Mahabaleshwar named Kohiyar Satarawala, who had met Baba in 1947, would daily send roses to Baba in hopes of being allowed darshan. Other persons were also eager to meet him. Baba relented, and on Tuesday, 25 May 1954, public darshan was given. The almost 400 men and women who gathered included both rajahs and paupers; but out of all those present for darshan, only Kohiyar proved to be close in Baba's love as was his entire family.
Kohiyar was tasked with locating and bringing 56 poor, working-class family men to the Aga Khan bungalow for a poor program, but he was not to disclose Baba's identity. The persons were brought on 1 June, and Baba bowed down to them and gave them some rupees as prasad.
Ramjoo and his family had moved from Ahmednagar and were now living in Satara. At Baba's request, Ramjoo had rented two bungalows in Satara — one called Grafton , (at 79-A Grafton Road), for Baba and the women, and another named Rosewood for the men, about 200 yards away. After the arrangements were complete, Baba and all the mandali moved from Mahabaleshwar to Satara on Wednesday, 2 June 1954, arriving in the evening. They would stay there for the next two and a half years.
Footnotes
- 1.Kaka and Savak had been called to Mahabaleshwar for a few days.