Meher Baba's Life & Travels
Featured pages :
Note : This is an historical web page, events that occurred in the early to mid-1930s.
Certain images such as flags from that period are displayed because they were relevant then as the official flags, which were
superseded some 17 years later by the current state flag.
Within the Shanghai webpage, the city of Hangzhou is featured and within the North China webpage, the city of Dairen ( Dalian ), Peking ( Beijing ) and other locations are highlighted during Herbert Davy's many train journeys through China; his correspondence is also featured.
General :
Meher Baba visited mainland China twice. The first visit was in June 1932 staying for 6 days and the second was in late January 1935 for a day ( or part of ).
On both occasions the Chinese Nationalist governed China and had their capitol in Nanking. Japan was occupying Northern China and this brought about a resistance by the Chinese which lasted till the end of 1945.
When Nanking was captured by the Japanese, beginning in the 13th December 1937, it paid a heavy price when the Japanese massacred a huge part of its population.
When the Japanese armed forces lost the war it retreated out of China and Korea in 1945, the Nationalist then struggled against the Chinese Communists who proclaimed the founding of the People's Republic of China in Beijing on October 1, 1949.
They still rule to the present.
During this same period in late 1949 to early 1950, defeated, the Nationalist forces retreated to the island of Formosa, now named Taiwan.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanjing_Massacre
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_China_retreat_to_Taiwan
Herbert Davy was from London, England and was one of the first to follow Meher Baba when he met him in East Challacombe in mid-September 1931. Herbert departed England on 17th September, taking up a teaching position at Nanking University in China employed by the League of Nations.
He travelled on the SS HAKONE MARU, arriving in Shanghai in late Sept., early October 1931.
The first letter Herbert posted was to "Chanji" Dadachanji which was written on the 23rd September 1931 when he
had reached Singapore on his voyage to China.
Because of Herbert's presence in China, Meher Baba utilised his skills and connections in planning his first visit accompanied by some of his male Mandali in June 1932.
A month earlier Baba
had sent another party of his men Mandali to China to await his arrival. Herbert
took care of all these arrangements.
1932 : 1st visit to China.
** Webmaster :
Rustom Irani and 5 other men mandali had arrived in China ( prior to Meher Baba's arrival) by the ship S.S. Chenonceaux from Colombo, Ceylon to Shanghai, China on the 24th March 1932, arriving on the 29th April 1932 staying with Herbert Davy in Nanking.
Prior to going to Nanking, Herbert
took the newly arrived Indian men mandali by train on a short visit to another big city south of Shanghai called Hangzhou.
They then returned to Shanghai and proceeded by train to Nanking.
Within a week, Baba ordered 2 of his men - Vishnu & Raosaheb to return to India, immediately.
After receiving Baba’s instructions by telegram, Rustom met up with Baba in Honolulu on the 9th June. Baba departed 2 days later June from Honolulu for Japan & China on the 11th.
The men were : Rustom K. Irani, Jal S. Irani, Gustadji Hansotia, Pendu Irani, Vishnu Deorukhar and Raosaheb Afsari.
Meher Baba on the 4th June 1932 along with his 4 men Mandali completed a 17 days visit to mainland United States. They then undertook a further
5 days of travelling from Los Angeles, on the maiden voyage of the S.S. Monterey to Honolulu, Hawaii where they stayed for 2 days; a visit of
24 days in total.
Meher Baba's Mandali member - Rustom K. Irani was waiting for Baba and his entourage in Honolulu. On the same day Baba arrived, he was given instructions to travel on the same ship to Australia, via Fiji & New Zealand.
Once he arrived at the Australian ports of Sydney & Melbourne he was not allowed to disembark because of the then harsh "White Australian Policy" against coloured peoples.
He returned by the same ship back to Honolulu and then by various ships back to India.
https://www.meherbabatravels.com/events/1932-visit-to-usa/1932-honolulu-visit/
Meher Baba and his men mMandali departed Honolulu on 11th June for Japan and China on the ship S.S. Empress of Japan.
The ship arrived at Yokohama, the port of Tokyo on 19th June and then the next day arrived in Kobe, before journeying onto Shanghai arriving on 22nd June at 3pm.
S.S. EMPRESS OF JAPAN
This is the ship in which Meher Baba and 4 of his men Mandali sailed from Honolulu, Hawaii on the
11th June 1932 at noon for the 11 day journey to China.
The 4 man Mandali who accompanied Meher Baba from Bombay to Europe then to the USA across the continent, and finally across the Pacific to Shanghai, China.
They were : Chanji, Kaka, Adi Jrn and Beheram.
When Meher Baba and his men arrived in Shanghai 3:00 PM on the 22nd June, they were met by Herbert Davy and Jal S. Irani ( Baba's brother ). Meher Baba was wearing his white suit and Panama hat when he arrived. After they had disembarked on the Eastern side of the Whangpu River called Pootung, they were ferried onto the Western side of the river and then transported by cars a couple of miles to the Palace Hotel on the Bund. Baba later explored parts of the city.
On the following ( 23rd ) day at 11 PM they all boarded the Jinghu train to Nanking, inland - then the capital of the Nationalist Government. The remaining men Mandali who had arrived earlier on the 24th April, were waiting there to greet Baba and his men.
After staying for 3 days in Nanking they all took the train back to Shanghai, leaving at 11 PM and arriving at 8 AM., leaving later the same day at 4 PM on the S.S. Kaiser-i-Hind for Bombay on the 28th.
Meanwhile, Herbert was given directions to board the train leaving on the 4th July for Dairen in Northern China then onto various train lines connecting at Chita, Russia with the Trans Siberian Railway, reaching Moscow, then to Warsaw, onto Berlin , Amsterdam and finally London. Later that month in Marseilles with his sister Kitty he met Baba on the 29th July.
Baba who had travelled by boat through Asian ports such as Hong Kong - Kowloon 1st July, then Singapore on the 6th July, Penang - 9th July, then sailed to Colombo, Ceylon to finally reach Bombay on 11:45 PM on 15th July.
MEHER BABA'S MID-1932 ITINERARY
1935 : 2nd visit to China
Webmaster :
Meher Baba concluded his 2nd coast to coast trip across the United States, finishing at Vancouver, Canada, his first and only visit to this nation.
He and his men Mandali departed on the SS Empress of Canada from Vancouver on the 12th January 1935 for Honolulu, arriving on the 17th. at noon. After a short stay, the ship continued onto Yokohama arriving on the 25th then Kobe on the 26th.
Meher Baba and his companions arrived in Shanghai on the 30th January, they were met by Rustom K. Irani who had arrived two days earlier from India.
After making ship booking arrangements, etc., Baba gave Rustom instructions for him to go to the USA to assist with a possible film production of a script approved by Baba.
The following day Meher Baba and his other men mandali continued their journey to Hong Kong arriving on the 2nd February. On the same day they visited Kowloon and transferred to the ship SS Fushimi Maru, departing on the 3rd.
They arrived in Singapore 7th Feb., then Penang on 10th and then Colombo on the 13th February.
It took the party another 3 days to arrive in Meherabad, India on the 16th.
It is not know presently, whether this individual met Meher Baba when he visited Shanghai in 1932 or whether he went ahead to India.
The only mention found on-line is in the following link.
