Meher Baba's Life & Travels
Balochistan province
( previously British India - Pre 1946 )
Meher Baba and his close companions travelled through Sibi Junction on 2 different occassions on their way to and from Quetta.
The first visit was on the 25th May 1923.
The second visit was on the 9th June 1924.
The following accounts are a brief outline only pertaining tot the actual town being mentioned. For a more fully account click on the following year 'buttons' for a more detailed account.
1st VISIT
8th June 1923
They left Ahmednagar by train at 12:30pm, 25th May, reaching Manmad in the early evening.
Ramjoo's Diaries p.197 & Lord Meher Vol.2 p.523
The 14 men are shown in the following image taken prior to their trip from Bombay to Quetta.
The men are : Adi K., Babu Rao ( Cyclewalla ), Baidul, Abdul Rehman ( Barsoap ), Beheramji, Nervous, Padri, Pendu, Ramjoo, Jal ( Baba's brother ), Masaji, Gustadji & Slamson.
The 4 women are : Gulmai, Soona and her daughter Khorshed, Pilamai & her infant son Vithal.
Click on the under-lined names to visit their respective web pages on this site.
May 1923 continued....
30th May
They arrived the following morning ( 30th May ) at Bhatinda and changed trains for Samasatta and again changed trains at Samasatta ( now in Pakistan ) for the Karachi Mail train, which arrived in the evening for the journey to Karachi. The train was packed like sardines when they boarded and the heat was terrible when they left.
Ramjoo's Diaries p.199-202
7th June
Meher Baba and his group left Karachi on the train for Quetta at 9:30
am, On the way the temperature rose considerably and the sand dust from the desert was blowing everywhere.
8th June
At 5:45 am the following day they reached Sibi Junction.
They stopped for an hour while, as a security requirement, everyone was examined medically. The police checked their travel papers, because of the frontiers people. They headed off again an hour
later for Quetta via the Bolan Pass, with security very tight all along to Quetta.
Please note : There were continual skirmishes with mainly Afghanis and some locals
who lived either side of the border between then British India (now Pakistan) and Afghanistan. These people were referred to at that time as 'frontier people'. Because of the constant troubles,
the British had an army garrison based in Quetta and also an air corp stationed there.
21st June 1923 : Urak. Photo taken by Sohrab J. Irani ( Rusi's brother ).
Image rendition by Anthony Zois.
They all packed their things and walked to the Quetta Railway Station, with the steam train was scheduled to leave at 4:55 am on 25th June. The Quetta people had given them a hearty send-off.
Rusi's daughters - Goher & Katie had given Baba a goodbye kiss.
When they arrived in Hyderabad ( Sind ), on the 26th June, they changed trains, ( the rail gauges changed a couple times, also ). Their luggage was weighed and again later when they changed trains at Marwar.
2nd VISIT
2nd - 30th June 1924
The plan took a twist, they now planned on leaving on the 2nd June 1924 by rail to Bombay and then to Quetta.
The animals at Meherabad were all arranged to be offered to Upasni Maharaj at Sakori.
Baba along with *Ardeshir ( Director of Agriculture), Ghani, Ramjoo and Vajifdar had left for Ahmednagar Railway station in the morning and the train travelled to Bombay via Manmad, arriving at 12:30pm.
At Deolali they had to change carriages and through a series of mishaps with luggages, trains, car travel, etc., they arrived at Bombay in the morning of the 4th June.
They put up at the Irani Mansions No.6 at Dadar, Bombay.
RD p.337-340
* There are no known images of
Ardeshir
DR. GHANI MUNSIFF RAMJOO JAFFER HORMUSJI VAJIFDAR
June 1924 continued...
Arriving 8th June in Hyderabad in the morning. Baba had a telegram telling Rusi Irani saying he and 3 others will arrive in Quetta on the 9th and to keep their arrival very private.
They boarded the Quetta Mail train, arriving at Sibi Junction on the following morning and arrival in Quetta at 5pm. Rusi pulled some strings with the police at Sibi to fast process Baba and his men through the security.
Rusi gave them lavish hospitality, which they needed.
The garden land that they seen on their previous trip was not available and it was too icy, so it was decided to go to Sukkar. Ramjoo and Adeshir took the train to the town on the 11th June, with a letter of introduction to man called Mobedji.
When they arrived they settled into a traveller's shelter and they found this man, he passed them onto many others who were very hospitable and sympathetic , but the land upon inspection was not suitable, especially in the hot summer. They inspected more lands by the backs of the Indus River and other locations. They continued on the next day - 12th, still inspecting more lands.
They continued to the town of Rohri on the 13th June. The next day ( 14th ), they returned to Quetta. They soon discovered that Baba and a local man had already left for Sukkar last night.
RD p.343-4
June 1924 continued...
On the 17th June, Ramjoo arrived in the morning, he selected a bungalow and took a 6 month lease. He then went to the plot of land that Baba had bought when he encounted a lady who similarities to Perfect Master Babajan in Poona. She was muttering inaudible words, when she asked him "Who is your Master ?", he replied Meher Baba. She then uttered "King Emperor" and began muttering again.
She had been devoted to Bachalshah when he was alive, she had left her family and was addressed as Mastani Mai. Ramjoo found the man that was absorbed
in Bachalshah's tomb when Baba visited.
Ramjoo gave him Rs5/- (5 rupees), which Baba
had given him prior.
Then another saintly person appeared who was known as Mustanshah. He began asking Ramjoo about his family and other from his home town in Lonavla. Rustom was bewildered. The man said he had spent some time at Lonavla and told him many observations he had made.
In the afternoon, Rustom rowed in a boat with a local guide to Sat-Bela, visiting a Hindu place of worship. He met with the head of the institute there and gave him the present Baba had given him for this purpose. This institute fed scores of needy people.
Rustom left Quetta by the 10pm train.
This place in Sukkor was to be the Baba's new seat, but many preferred the temperate climate of Karachi. Loads of trunks, etc arrived and stored in Sukkar. By the 30th June, most of the Mandali had arrived in Sukkar.
Khodadad Farhad ( Nervous ) had a fever due to Sufi the horse had struck his knee and it got infected. Even though he was getting medical care from a European surgeon, from when he first arrived. He was then declared to have typhoid. Baba spent considerable time with. On the 16th July, Nervous passed away, when Baba had arrived in Mach.
Funeral arrangements had been taken care of.
Baba arrived in Karachi on the 17th July. The following day 18th July, a large bungalow was arranged near the botanical garden & zoo, with the rest of the Mandali arriving soon. Baba also inspected other plots of land in view for their permanent stay.
On the 19th July, Baba and the party went Maghar-Pir about 10 miles from Karachi by car.
This place had a shrine to a well-known saint and also several hot-water springs with many believing in the curing powers of the waters. Also found were many lepers hoping to be cured.
The rest of the group had arrived from Quetta including their luggage from Sukkor, and all agreeing that all transactions were cancelled and all parties rewarded sufficently.
RD p.346-351
Present Sibi Junction Railway Station
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