This was surprising to Francis and Eruch, inasmuch as Baba did it suddenly. They returned to Guruprasad, and a few hours later a Baba lover high up in the public works department telephoned warning that the Mutha River would burst an earthen dam and flood waters would pour into the city.1 To quote from a Times of India article:
Floods from the river — worst in living memory — hit the city twice in four hours. The first wave came in the forenoon when the raging river destroyed the Panshet Dam. Another mass of water cascaded into the city when the Khadakwasla Dam gave way in the afternoon. The entire city is without water supply and electricity. Although some prior warning was available, the people had to take the full fury of the swollen Mutha River.
The men and women and Baba moved to the top floor of Guruprasad. Although the floods had inundated the business and residential areas of the city, the waters stopped some distance from Guruprasad, leaving the bungalow unaffected.
However, the railing at Bund Garden that Baba had leaned against was completely submerged and there were boats on the spot where he had stood. Nearly half of Poona was under six feet or more of water. Shinde's shoe shop was completely flooded, as were V. M. Pandit and Ali Ramjoo's homes. Pandit was a schoolteacher at whose house (by the riverbank) weekly meetings were held in Baba's name. While all the neighboring houses had collapsed in ruins, Pandit's home remained intact, though many of his belongings were lost. But the most astonishing thing was that the water that submerged the area stopped rising just beneath the framed picture of Baba that hung on his wall.
Similarly, at Ali Ramjoo's house, though the flood waters surged in carrying away tables and chairs, his collection of Baba books on a high shelf was spared. He also had a large stack of literature which belonged to the Poona Center. He was anxious that he would be liable for its cost if it were all ruined, but that material too was undamaged.
However, at Shinde's shoe shop his entire stock of shoes, boots and sandals was damaged. When the waters receded, Baba went to the shop and sat among the debris. Slimy mud covered the footwear, but Baba assured Shinde not to worry. Shinde had every pair cleaned and disposed of at half-price. (The following year, Baba himself performed the opening ceremony of his new shop, and his business prospered.)
