1st  Visit to SOUTH INDIA

 

 AUGUST  1924

 

 

 

              JOURNEY TO SOUTHERN INDIA

 

 

Meher Baba departed Poona in the *early-afternoon of 2nd August for Raichur by train  ( central southern India ). Many had come to the railway station to see Baba and his 4 men companions.

They were ; Beheramji Irani, Padri Driver, Gustadji Hansotia and Baily Irani.

Soon afterwards, Baba changed his mind and wanted to go to Madras ( Chennai ) instead, so the difference of the rail tickets were paid. They arrived at 9:30 am on the *3rd Aug. at Madras Central Station, they moved then to the Shaikh Sidiqui Choultry rest house near the station.

Madras ( now Chennai ) is on the southern-east coast of India.

 

Here, Baba made preparations to visit Porto Novo ( Parangipettai ) on India's south-east coast, south of Madras, which had devastating floods recently causing damage to lives and property. They left the following night 4th Aug. for the Madras Beach station of the S.I. Railway.

Upon arrival, there were vast crowds clambering to to travel and after many attempts to purchase tickets, there were none available, so they returned to the rest house.

 

RD p353-5

 

*Please note : The book "Ramjoo's Diary" does not state who is actually the diary keeper for this journey.  *The book mistakenly gave an arrival time in Madras of 9:30pm 3rd Aug. Traveling at an average of about 50-60 kms an hour for 1,092 kms, the arrival time in Madras would be 9:30am, 3rd.Aug. A 12 hour difference.

Times & distances are shown in the next section below. Webmaster

 

August 1924 Historical Time

 

1st Aug : Born - Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, King of Saudi Arabia from 2005 to 2015 

2nd Aug : Born - Carroll O'Connor (John Carroll O'Connor), American TV actor known for portraying Queens resident Archie Bunker in the situation comedy All in the Family, and other films. (d. 2001)

-- James Baldwin, American novelist, non-fiction author and playwright known for the novel Go Tell It on the Mountain (1953), and the book Notes of a Native Son (1955); in Harlem, New York City (d. 1987)

3rd Aug : Amanullah Khan, King of Afghanistan, declared a jihad war against six tribes who had commenced the Khost rebellion,

-- A group of 150 Soviet troops crossed the border into Poland and attacked the town of Stołpce.

Died : Joseph Conrad (pen name for Józef Konrad Korzeniowski), 66, Polish-born British novelist known for Lord Jim and other works.

4th Aug : The first Women's International and British Games, also called the "Women's Olympiad", was held in London with women from six European nations (Belgium, Czechoslovakia, France, Italy, Switzerland at the UK) competing.

 

 

 BEHERAM H. IRANI        PADRI DRIVER             GUSTADJI HANSOTIA            BAILY IRANI

 

August continued ...

 

The following railway station name signs are in order of travelling from Poona to Ooty.

 

The distance between Poona and Madras by train  is about 1,095 kms / 680 miles. This takes between 18.5 & 19.5 hours by today's trains.

The distance between Madras and Ooty by train is about 503 kms / 312 miles. This takes about 15 hours today.

The total one-way is about 1,600 kms / 990 miles and takes about 33-35 hours today's trains.

The Madras sign was not available to be included with the other signs below.

Some of the towns travelled through by Meher Baba will also have a web page for them with extra details featured.

 

 

 August continued ...

 

The next day, 5th August they decided to go to Nilgiri Hills instead, some 330 miles away (532 kms). This is located on the western side of southern India, south of Mysore (Mysuru). They departed on the 5th Aug. at 6:30pm for Ooty, travelling 3rd class. Baba slept that night on part of a bench.

 

Some time in the early morning, they thought they were heading towards Metropalayam Junction (Mettupalaiyam), but they found out they were heading in another direction, because while they slept, their carriage was attached to another train. They eventually arrived at this junction on the 6th. Baba referred to this place as "Petroleum".

 

RD p355

 

July 1924 Historical Time

 

5th Aug : The German delegation, including Chancellor Wilhelm Marx and Foreign Minister Gustav Stresemann, joined the London reparations conference.

 

 

August continued ...

 

Baba had a bad stomach upset during this travelling. At 12:15pm, they changed to the miniature train on a narrow rail gauge, to take them up to the hills, reaching Ooty at 3:30pm and at a height of 7,250 feet (2,210 metres) above sea level, and it was very cold.

 

There were no hotel lodging anywhere or they were too unsanitary. They sought permission and they slept the night in an empty train carriage parked on a siding. They left Ooty at 6:20pm after touring the nearby area and returned by train to Coonoor at 7:45pm.

 

That night, Baba had a fever all night, and by the next morning he insisted on walking, to "Petroleum", some 21 miles (34 kms) away, leaving at 7:20am. Along the way, they had lunch and Baba told Padri "Don't ever become a Baba if you can help it".

 

RD p356

 

 

 

August continued ...

 

Although this whole area were tea plantations, all of the tea went for export, and only coffee was offered at all of the stops. Baba consumed nothing the whole way. They reached Kellar (Kalla) station after trekking for 16 miles ( 26 kms) and they covered the remaining 5 miles (8 kms) by train to Metropalayam.

They returned to Madras by train without incident arriving 8:30am of 8th August.

After arriving, they stayed in one of the traveller's hotels. One of the men travelling with Meher Baba- Baily Irani, said he had enough and was sent back to Poona with some excess luggage by train.

 

The other 3 men went with Baba to the Central Madras Railway Station in the 9th and departed at 8am. The men were Padri, Beheramji & Gustadji.

 

RD p.357-8

LM p.666