Ramjoo decided to rejoin Baba and the mandali; but Sadashiv, Munshiji and Vajifdar soon returned to their residences. Ghani commented that he had not yet made up his mind.
Centuries ago the Arangaon area was a forested area and its name is derived from that. There are several legends connected with Arangaon's spiritual past. It is said that during the 9th or 10th century, a Perfect Master named Vithoba (another name for Krishna) stayed at the village. After some time, a temple dedicated to him was constructed. Because of this temple the small village also became known as Chhota (Little) Pandhari , in reference to Pandharpur, a celebrated place of pilgrimage for Hindus.
Later, during the 17th century, a saint named Buaji Bua resided in Arangaon. Once, during the festival of Ekadashi (literally, the 11th day after a new moon; a sacred day dedicated to Lord Vishnu), a large crowd had assembled to celebrate the day in the saint's auspicious presence. The bhajan singing became ecstatic and in a rapture of divine intoxication, swaying his body to the fervent music, Buaji Bua began rubbing his palms together. When his disciples asked him the reason, the saint replied, "I am extinguishing a large fire in the congregation tent at Pandharpur!" His disciples were startled when they witnessed his hands turning black, like charcoal, and smoke rising from them! A few days later, news came from Pandharpur that there had been a tremendous fire on Ekadashi, which had been surprisingly easy to extinguish. The fire was found to have started at the time when Buaji Bua began rubbing his hands together.1
Buaji Bua is also known for having had himself buried alive (called jivan-samadhi ) in Vithoba's temple in Arangaon. His tomb is there to this day. Hindus go on pilgrimage to this temple-tomb, and each year a festival is held outside the shrine.
Baba changed his mind and decided to send the mandali to Rustom and Freiny's wedding. He came with them from Arangaon to Ahmednagar on 8 May. Baba and Gustadji stayed on the top floor of Sarosh Manzil and the other mandali at Khushru Quarters, where a large canopy had been erected and was beautifully decorated.2
Baba told the men to render whatever help was needed, under Behramji's direction. Behramji assigned them the work of assisting the cooks in cutting and cleaning vegetables for the wedding feast.
Footnotes
- 1.Other accounts have ascribed the fire as happening in Dehu while bhajans were being sung in front of Tukaram and being extinguished in Shrigonda by the Sufi saint Sheikh Mohammed Baba (1560–1650).
- 2.Gulmai recalled that Baba and Gustadji occupied Maharaj's room (downstairs), but in his diary Ramjoo has written that Baba stayed in the room on the third floor which he had occupied previously.