Soon after breakfast on Sunday, 2 April 1967, Baba left for Poona with the women and men mandali. Don had imported a new maroon Wolseley automobile from England and drove Baba, Mehera, Mani and Meheru in it. During the journey, Baba repeatedly remarked how comfortable he felt in the car, and he instructed Don to be at Guruprasad on 1 July to drive him back to Meherazad. The other women (Goher, Naja and Rano) rode with the men mandali (Eruch, Pendu, Francis, Bhau and Aloba) in the DeSoto, and a hired station wagon. Every year, Bhagirath's truck was used to transport the luggage and large items, such as bicycles and Baba's lift-chair, to and from Guruprasad. From the beginning, Khorshed and Nana Kher had been allowed to stay in Poona for the three months that Baba was in residence there, and they, along with Meherjee, Meherwan Jessawala and Jehangu Sukhadwalla were present at Guruprasad to greet Baba when he arrived.
On reaching Guruprasad Baba, holding Meherjee's arm, began walking briskly up and down the long verandah, and the mandali were overjoyed to see him able to move so freely without the neck collar, after months of indifferent health. Baba continued walking the length of the verandah each morning and afternoon, with the help of either Eruch, Francis or Bhau.
He would ask the mandali, with a delighted smile, "How do I walk?"
A week passed, when Baba surprisingly called Dr. Ram Ginde to come from Bombay "for five minutes" on 10 April, just to show him how he was walking.
"Later I may not be walking so fast," he remarked.
When Ginde arrived at 9:00 A.M. (with Homa Dadachanji), Baba took his hand and started walking. "It was impossible for me to keep pace with him," Ginde later related. "Baba was taking such wide, long steps that, within a short time, I was out of breath. He did that once, twice, and I had to tell him, 'Baba, please go slow. I cannot keep pace with you. You are walking far too fast for me.' "
Baba laughed and said, "All right, if you are tired. At least, I hope you are satisfied that I can walk better than you can."1
Dr. Ginde stayed in Guruprasad for 50 minutes.
Baba disclosed to him: "From June till November, for about five months, I will have to undergo a lot of physical suffering for the sake of all. However, this is the last period of my seclusion. After November 1967, everybody must be prepared to witness my miracles — what appear to be impossible today."
Footnotes
- 1.Don was present at Guruprasad that day, also. He flew to England a few weeks later, on 1 May 1967, for a short family visit.