Along with all the Center workers, Baba visited Dhavle's Leather Works Cooperative Society at Deccan Gymkhana on Karve Road. Dhavle was a longtime lover of Baba's. His employees at the factory welcomed Baba vociferously and escorted him to a seat, especially decorated for him. Baba gave darshan to them, while Subhadra sang. Declaring his happiness with all and blessing them, Baba next went to the Kamla Nehru Hostel to visit the Harijan children and students there. The hostel secretary, a member of parliament named P. N. Rajbhoj, received Baba and said a few words. Two small girls sang a Marathi bhajan, and Baba permitted the children to have his darshan. Subhadra sang a bhajan and performed arti before Baba.
Baba then proceeded to S. N. Wandrekar's garden at Kothrud. Wandrekar was a former deputy minister of the Bombay government, and he and his family received Baba warmly. Baba stepped inside the garden, where fruit, cookies and sweets had been placed on a table. Baba took his seat and all sat before him. Calling the entire Wandrekar family, Baba made them sit beside him, and again Subhadra sang bhajans and performed his arti. Finally Baba distributed prasad to all, and Bhikubhai K. Panarkar of Meelan Photo Studio (who had met Baba through Shinde) took photographs of Baba with the family and workers. Around noon the functions ended, and Baba returned to Ganeshkhind with the mandali.
Ramakrishnan had ridden in the car with Baba during these visits. There was an epidemic of flu in Poona at the time, and while in the car Baba instructed Ramakrishnan to take two APC (aspirin-like) tablets every day for a month as a preventative measure. Ramakrishnan was not ill and, although he was disinclined to take such medicine for so long, he began taking the tablets as ordered.
With the Rs.1,000 donated by Noshir Irani and others at the May meeting, Baba held a poor program in Ganeshkhind on Sunday, 9 June 1957. Two hundred poor boys below the age of fifteen (as Baba had specified) were brought by his Poona lovers, who were allowed to be present for the program. A few lovers from Bombay, Navsari, Hamirpur and Andhra, including Irene Conybeare and Francis Goldney, were also there.1 As each child approached Baba in turn, and after offering his salutation by bowing to them, Baba handed them a piece of cloth and a sweet.
Footnotes
- 1.Conybeare and Goldney had been sent to Mahabaleshwar by Baba in May, and stayed at the Race View Hotel there for the summer.