ChaptersChapter 39Page 5,221

Chapter 39: No Drugs

1966Page 5,221 of 5,444
Subsequently, others such as Darwin and Jeanne Shaw, Fred and Ella Winterfeldt, and Joulia Mavris also wished to move to Meher Center, but by that time Elizabeth had become concerned about the Center becoming overcrowded and requested Baba to "close the gates" to any further attempts to live on the Center.
Baba left Meherazad for his usual summer stay at Poona with the men and women mandali on Friday, 1 April 1966. Local lovers were not allowed to stand on the road and greet Baba's car as it passed through Ahmednagar. Kaikobad went to stay at Meherabad during Baba's absence. Kaka remained in Meherazad and Padri stayed with him, since Kaka's health was weak. In fact, Kaka remained alive only by Baba's nazar. His heartbeats were irregular due to previous heart attacks, and the doctors were amazed that he still survived. Kaka had become a "living corpse," and only Baba was sustaining him!
In stark contrast to the previous year when hundreds had come for Baba's darshan, 1966 was a quiet year at Guruprasad and practically no lovers gained admittance. A select few were allowed to see Baba but for only a few minutes. No restrictions were placed against Jalbhai, Sheroo, Rustom, Sohrab, Jehangu, Meherjee or Meherwan Jessawala coming to Guruprasad, and they would visit according to their convenience.
Although the Bombay Parsi group did not come to Poona that year, Nariman Dadachanji and Goher's sister, Katie, would come every weekend, and Arnavaz was allowed to stay for a few days. Khorshed as usual stayed for the full three months, as did Nana Kher. Bal Natu came for six weeks. Aloba and Nana would keep watch on the verandah during the day to make certain that no one entered the compound from the front gate, and Vishnu's cousin, Sushila, likewise shared this duty at times. Dr. Alu Khambatta was a regular visitor and was helpful in looking after anyone who was ill, or for taking different ones to the doctor or hospital for examinations.
A Hindu by birth, Bal Natu wore the traditional dhoti (a long cloth wrapped around the waist in lieu of trousers). One year, during his stay at Guruprasad, he tripped over his dhoti while playing cards with Baba and the mandali. Baba repeatedly criticized him for wearing a dhoti. The fact was that Bal was embarrassed to dress in pants, as he had always worn a dhoti, and Baba continued mentioning it only to make him overcome his attachment to his attire. Afterwards, Bal did begin wearing Western-style trousers, which pleased Baba.
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