Jalbhai complained about Ramjoo and ended by saying, "He did it on purpose, Baba. He knew others were waiting outside." Ramjoo kept quiet. Baba, in the end, forgave them.
Padri drove Baba to Meherabad in Sarosh's car that day to witness the Arangaon villagers' birthday celebrations.
When his seclusion ended, Baba, seated in his wheelchair, began seeing the men mandali nearly every morning. On 1 March 1957, Sarosh brought Dr. Ketkar from Ahmednagar at 9:30 A.M. For the first time after the accident, Baba was made to stand without support. He was very happy to be able to do so. That afternoon, another set of X-rays was taken at Booth Hospital in Ahmednagar. The X-rays were sent to Don the next day at Bindra House, via Sarosh, and shown to Dr. Chatterjee, who was satisfied with the results.1 Chatterjee said Baba could begin to walk with crutches or by resting a hand on the men's shoulders on either side, but slowly at first. Don then came to Meherazad on the 3rd and began staying there to oversee Baba's treatment. On the afternoon of the 4th, with Don's help, Baba tried to take his first few steps since the accident. Using the crutches, he moved at a halting pace, and the walking brought additional pain. But the men and women were relieved and happy that the next phase of Baba's recovery had begun.
The next day, the pace and rounds (inside his bedroom) were increased to a few minutes twice a day, and Baba seemed eager to do more, regardless of the pain that followed. The doctors had advised him not to put his full weight on his right leg until the end of March, and the women had to keep reminding him to move slower. At night, he was restless and would have cramps in his legs, but he continued to practice walking each day. By 8 March, Baba was getting around with only the aid of crutches; his steps were longer and his strides quicker.
Baba called the Muslim boy, Ismail, to Meherazad from Satara. Ismail wanted to stay and live with Baba but, since his tutoring lessons by Bhau were completed (much to Bhau's relief), Baba decided to send him back to Satara with his blessing. Ismail later joined the army, where he did very well and received several promotions in a short time.
Footnotes
- 1.Don was still staying at Rosewood in Satara.