ChaptersChapter 38Page 5,000

Chapter 38: Guruprasad Garden, 1963

1963Page 5,000 of 5,444
The hall was full of lovers from Andhra, and Baba asked Kutumba Sastri to summarize what Baba had stated regarding the conduct of his work in Andhra. After this, Mohan-Saigal gave a wonderful two-hour recital, which Baba enjoyed. Once he sent Mohan out to take a break and have tea. While he was away, a blind man from Andhra played the violin, and then played the flute.
Explaining a few lines of the ghazals, Baba commented:
The lover says that his Beloved's eyebrows are like bows, while his nazar is like an arrow. The lover asks his Beloved to shoot such an arrow as would go deep down into his heart! The lover's weeping for the Beloved is so intense that there are waves of tears, a regular storm [of pain] so to say. He cries out that he does not know where his love will lead him!
He says: "I live. Why? To die for You!"
He says: "Even my enemies cannot bear the sight of my suffering for You, O Beloved!"
At 11:00 A.M. Baba's arti was sung, and afterward all went for lunch. Baba came into the side room a few minutes later. Dhake narrated a funny story which made Baba chuckle.
In the afternoon, when Baba took his seat in the hall, Lata Limaye sang a few ghazals. Afterward, from 3:00 to 4:00 P.M., Bhaskara Raju of Tadepalligudem, along with two other performers: P. Satyam and K. Venkatacharya enacted part of the Telugu musical narrative Burra Katha . Bhaskara's brother, Ramabhadra Raju, accompanied them on the tabla, and Ramabhadra's son, B. Satyanarayana Raju, played the harmonium. In the eight years since they had begun performing this ballad-drama depicting Baba's life, this was their 153rd performance and their fourth before Baba. In the play, interspersed between the songs, Venkatacharya asked "inane" questions about Baba (such as, "Why doesn't he talk?) and one of the others gave a reply. At the end, Venkatacharya said, "Now that I have heard so much about Meher Baba, please take me for his darshan." Bhaskara Raju then led him by the hand to Baba and said, "This is Avatar Meher Baba!" Baba and everyone present enjoyed the play very much.
For the opening of Mehersthan, the students of the Kalakshetra Dance School of Eluru performed a play written by Bhau in Hindi about Baba's life titled Meher Leela . Baba asked to have it performed before him at Guruprasad, and this followed the Burra Katha . The drama was beautifully danced by ten young girls all under twelve, wearing splendid costumes. The stage was magnificently decorated and their expressions and graceful movements were wonderful. They had been trained so well that there was perfect harmony among them. Colored lights shone on them, adding to the beauty of the scene.
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