1924 

North & Central India Tour

1st Visit

Meher Baba and some of his men Mandali made 2 long trips into North & Central India.

The 1st trip occured during mid-March to late July 1924.

The 2nd trip started in August and completed in early September 1924.

Mid-March 1924

This part of the journey starts when Meher Baba and his men Mandali arrive back from visiting Persia by ship, which landed back in Karachi.

The train later left Karachi for Hyderabad ( Sind ), then changed trains for Jaipur and onto Lucknow.

Here, Baba went to the bazaar looking for sandals, but was disappointed with what was being offered. Baba was still wearing the woollen Kamli coat that Yeshwant Rao had given him and the sandals that Kanhoba Rao made back in India prior to travelling.

Masaji did all the cooking for the group including the teas.

RD p.301

The above image of the Kamli coat is how it appears in the Meherabad Museum. Baba had worn the coat for about 10 years. During this time it was constantly patched up by the women mandali.

continued

Leaving Lucknow, they proceeded to Raxaul which is a frontier station on the Nepalese border. They discovered that they had missed the entry date by a few days. Baba had sent telegrams to various government authorities, but permission was not granted.

continued

They then decided to proceed to Maghar  (via Gorakhpur) and visit the tomb of the renowned poet and Perfect Master Kabir, staying for 2 days. Baba had the men feed 50 poor people here, all the surplus provisions were distributed which made their luggage considerably lighter.

There are 2 tombs for Kabir in the Maghar, one for the Hindus and one for the Muslims.

Baba had to intervene in a quarrel here between 2 groups of travelling sadhus (spiritual aspirants). He told them sternly on how to behave when one lives the life of a pilgrim.

RD p.302

LM p.604

Mid-March continued

*They left Maghar for Cawnpore ( Kanpur ) some 200 miles / 320 Kms away. When they arrived in Cawnpore, it took them awhile riding in a tonga to find a suitable place to stay at a dhamashala (rest house). They later went to the local bathing steps by tram cars to bathe in the Ganges River.

RD p.302

LM p.604

* The 2 references used to write the account of this trip have different versions on how Baba and his men went from Maghar to Cawnpore. The Lord Meher book & On-line versions having a horse tonga transporting 6 men including the driver, 200 miles / 320 Kms in a couple of days. That is not possible.

The only viable option was that they took the train at Maghar for Cawnpore via Basti, Mankapur, Faizabad ( Ayodhya ) and Lucknow.

The account in Ramjoo's Diary only stated "From here the party came to Cawnpore".

Webmaster

On 26th March, Ramjoo Jaffer received a telegram from Meher Baba telling him to come to Meherabad at once. As he was about to leave, he developed a severe fever, and became very weak and barely able to walk. His family protested against him leaving but he still boarded the train from Lonavla to Ahmednagar at 2:30pm. He reached Baba's camp at 10:30 that night with the fever slightly subsided.

The next day, Baba told Ramjoo that he had decided to stay near to Arangaon and he wanted him to move there. Employment for Ramjoo was being arranged so that he could continue to support his family. However, because of an upcoming wedding, Ramjoo was obliged to postpone the move until after the 7th of April.

Ramjoo walked to the Ahmednagar Railway station to catch the train back to Lonavla. On the 8th April, after attending the marriage ceremonies, Ramjoo returned to Meherabad to help the men with building and earth works.The work was hard and steady every day.

Others from the Kasba Peth group in Poona ; Arjun, Chowdhari, Kondiram, Vishnu and others were called to stay at Meherabad to fix the new settlement.

RD p. 304-6

March 1924 Historical Timeline :

25th : The Greek Parliament voted to depose King George II and declare the Second Hellenic Republic. A public referendum on the issue was set for April 13.

A three-man team of British fliers, led by navigator Archibald Stuart-MacLaren, accompanied by pilot William Noble Plenderleith and flight engineer Sergeant W. H. Andrews, became the first of six different groups to attempt the first trip around the world by airplane.

26th : French Prime Minister Raymond Poincaré resigned after his government was defeated.

Over 100 people died in landslides around Amalfi in Italy.

27th : The opening of the first elected parliament in the Kingdom of Iraq.

Born: Sarah Vaughan, American jazz singer; in Newark, New Jersey (d. 1990)

31st : The air transport company Imperial Airways was founded in the United Kingdom by the merger of the UK's four existing airlines. The four combined their aircraft for a fleet of 13 planes operating out of Croydon Airport to serve international flights to and from London.

  RAMJOO                    ARJUN                CHOWDHARI         KONDIRAM               VISHNU

April 13th was the Hindu festival for Rama-Navri. A canopy was erected at Baba's newly built room - Jhopdi, later many from Poona arrived for the occasion.

Baily, Barsoap, Padri, Masaji, Khan Saheb, *Kaikushru along with **Bhikolya and his singing party.

RD p.307

LM p.608

*  It is assumed that Kaikushru mentioned is Gulmai's husband, who had owned the land of Meherabad, prior to Meher Baba's arrival.

**There is no known image of Bhikolya

April 1924 Historical Timeline :

1st : The verdicts in the Beer Hall Putsch trial were announced. Adolf Hitler, and several others were all found guilty of treason and sentenced to five years in prison, with a chance of parole in six months. Hitler was taken to Landsberg Prison and given a large and comfortable room with a fine view.

2nd : On the Red Sea, the British cruise ship Clan McIver rescued more than 1,200 passengers, almost all of the Muslim pilgrims on their way to Mecca, from the British steamship SS Frangestan, a freighter  which had caught fire after the ignition of its cargo of cotton. Clan McIver then delivered the 1,200 pilgrims to Port Sudan

3rd : Marlon Brando, American stage and film actor, winner of two Academy Awards, he declined one.

5th : In the town of Lilly, Pennsylvania, 500 members of the Ku Klux Klan shot 22 people, two of them fatally, firing randomly into a crowd at the town's railroad station.

8th : On recommendation of Prime Minister Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Sharia courts were abolished by vote of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, and the Islamic law judges (Qadis) were dismissed.

13th : Voters in Greece overwhelmingly voted to abolish the monarchy and to endorse the Second Hellenic Republic that had been proclaimed by parliament, subject to public approval, on March 25. Out of more than one million people who cast votes, over 758,000 opted in favor of a republic with Pavlos Kountouriotis as president.

     BAILY                       BARSOAP             PADRI                    KHAN SAHEB           KAIKUSHRU

Mid- April continued      - April is the middle of Summer

Someone proposed that those who were devoted to MeherBaba, Upasni and Babajan, should display a distinctive sign and that they should wear specific coloured clothing.

Baba was not in favour of it. "Ours is not a society. Any mark of distinction would rob us of our independence and would prove a binding to restrict our minds."  Hence the idea was dropped and the meeting was dissolved.

The festivities lasted several days, with many stories told of past Masters, singing and lectures on spirituality. One evening Baba made several essential messages, including the following extract - "Once I settle here, the atmosphere of this place will be greatly heightened spiritually and materially. I have a 'great mission' to perform, in my life for the benefit of humanity, the outcome of which will be observed in the near future".

On the 14th April at 11am, a mass feeding started and continued until evening, nearly a thousand poor and destitute people were fed. The food was cooked by Chowdhari and others. Kondiram had returned to his ill mother.                                         LM p.608

The following day 15th April, a meeting was held to suggest a name for Baba's newly built one room hut. He suggested the name "Jhodpi" (hut). Others referred to it as 'Agra Kuti' ( 1st hut).           * see the above images of the hut.

They also agreed to name the 3 animals that Mehera's mother Daulat had brought to Meherabad. The white horse was called 'Sufi', the white dog 'Sadhu' and the bullock 'Saint'. Many discourses were given during this time. Baba had made Ramjoo and Gustadji co-managers of Meherabad.

LM p.616

April 1924 Historical Timeline :

16th : Born - Henry Mancini (Enrico Mancini), American composer of film and television scores, including "Moon River" and "The Pink Panther Theme".

20th : Born -  Leslie Phillips, British actor; in Tottenham, London (d. 2022)

         DAULAT IRANI                                RUSTOM K. IRANI                     FREINY J. IRANI

April continued 

On 20th April, Rustom bought a copy of the Gujarati newspaper 'Akhbar', which contained Sohrabji Desai's review of Upasni Maharaj's biography.  He also wrote in the same paper, that he had met Meher Baba and fully believed that he was 'the coming of the Jagat Guru' - Master of the Universe, the Avatar.                                                              LM p. 615

The following day, 21st, Naval, Dina and her mother Rupamai arrived from Bombay. Gulmai who came daily, arrived with Rustom who bought a bundle of sweets and the happy news that his wife Freiny ( Mehera's sister) had given birth to a son. The Master named him after himself - Merwan.

The next day, 22nd, a mast ( a God intoxicated person) arrived, he was very thirsty and hungry. Baba gave him new clothes and after feeding him, he was sent away. On another day, a mother and child came looking for food, they too were fed and given new clothes and sent away.

LM p.616

      SOHRABJI  DESAI                                DINA TALATI                                     NAVAL TALATI

April continued

The Satha brothers, followers of Gandhi, arrived on the 27th April, to see Baba.

In the afternoon, Baba went to Happy Valley  for a drive with Munshi, Syedsahid*, Adi and Rustom. Here, Baba described the spiritual 'circles' in his realm and how they function.

They returned at 8pm to Meherabad, with Munshi and Syedsahid* returning to Bombay and Nasik respectively. Ramjoo also returned to Lonavla via Dhond, with Baba's permission to attend a coming festival.

RD p.323

 *There is no known image of Syedsahib.

 RAMJOO  JAFFER    MUNSHI RAHIM        ADI K. IRANI          RUSTOM K. IRANI     MAHATMA GANDHI

Ramjoo returned on the 9th May. Meher Baba had secluded himself in his hut and was was fasting as well. 

Vishnu was stung by a scorpion, which resulted in him requiring treatment. Baba gathered all at his hut and warned them about the scorpions and especially snakes. He also told them to carry lights when they moved about at night.

The following day ( 10th ), Padri was asked by Baba to tell everyone what to do if bitten by a snake, which included first aid, as well as being taken to the local hospital in Ahmednagar for further treatment.

On the 12 May, Choudhari decided he had, had enough and was leaving for Poona without giving an explanation, not even to Baba when he asked him what troubled him. Baba then asked if anyone else wanted to join him and no one responded.

RD p.324

May 1924 Historical Timeline :

1st : Iodized salt, now used in table salt worldwide.

4th : At least 50 Muslims were killed in the Iraqi city of Kirkuk by the British-sponsored Assyrian Levies paramilitary force.

7th : In the Ruhr region of Germany, 300,000 miners went on strike over working hours.

10th : J. Edgar Hoover, a 29-year-old lawyer, became the U.S. Justice Department's Acting Director of the Bureau of Investigation, the predecessor to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

Born : Antony Hewish, British radio astronomer and recipient of the 1974 Nobel Prize in Physics; in Fowey, Cornwall (d. 2021)

12th : Born - Tony Hancock, English radio and TV comedian known for the 1950s programme Hancock's Half Hour; in Hall Green, Birmingham(d. of suicide, 1968)

   VISHNU DEORUKHAR     "PADRI"  FAREDOON DRIVER       CHOUDHARI            DR. GHANI MUNSIFF

May continued

Daulat Irani and her 2 daughters - *Mehera (17) and Freiny (20) came on the 19th May to stay for a couple of days. They were to share 2 rooms, with 3 other women, including

*Davla Masi.

Baba's jhodpi / hut was decorated with buntings, plantation leaves, etc, for Upasni Maharaj's birthday celebrations on the following day.

The following day ( 20th ), Baba's brothers Jamshed and Beheram arrived along with many others for the celebrations.  Temporary shading was erected to provide shelter from the hot sun.

Devotional songs, bells, drums and other musical instruments filled the air for the joyous occasion. Later a rain shower came when 'prasad' ( blessed sweets from the Master ) were given out. Supper followed. Baba was still fasting.

On the 23rd, Dr. Ghani and *Abdul Tayeb arrived from Lonavla by car and placed it at Baba's disposal. Later, Baba gave Adi K. Irani permission to shave so he could attend his cousin's marriage that night. All the men including Baba, had beards and they were not allowed to shave.

RD p.332

* There is no known images of either Davla Masi or Abdul Tayeb.

May 1924 Historical Timeline :

18th : The Kīlauea volcano erupted in Hawaii with a violent explosion at the Halema‘uma‘u crater.

Born : Wolfgang Rindler, Austrian astrophysicist and author, known for coining the term "event horizon" in his 1956 paper "Visual Horizons in World Models"

19th : The first use of telephone lines to transmit images was made in a demonstration by the American Telephone and Telegraph Company of "a new process of transmitting pictures by electricity".

- The first aerial circumnavigation of Australia was carried out by an RAAF crew in a Fairey IIID.

- The Marx Brothers made their Broadway debut with the presentation of the stage show I'll Say She Is at the Casino Theatre.

20th : Over one million radio listeners in the United Kingdom listened in on an experimental broadcast from a garden in Surrey in which a nightingale's song was picked up by a microphone concealed in a bush.

25th :  The Second Hellenic Republic was proclaimed in Greece, as Pavlos Kountouriotis was inaugurated as the former monarchy's new President. Kountouriotis had been serving as the Regent of Greece after King George II had gone into exile on December 23.

* There is no known image of Mehera as a teenager. The image shown below is of her as a young adult.

          DAULAT IRANI                                MEHERA J. IRANI                     FREINY J. IRANI

May continued

It was decided on the 26th May, to drive to Aurangabad then to Daulatabad and onto the Ellora Caves in 2 cars, departing at 5:30am with 13 man mandali. The remaining people at Meherabad were to continue with their daily routines.

Adi K. Irani wrote - on the way, they came across the Imampur Ghats, 12 miles from Imampur. They halted at a village called Ghodegaon, where they took tea, before driving on to the town of Toka.

They finally arrived at Aurangabad and then later they looked for  a resting place.

Note : See the following map.

RD p.333

May 1924 Historical Timeline :

26th : The Johnson–Reed Act, officially the U.S. Immigration Act of 1924, was signed into law by U.S. President Calvin Coolidge to restrict the entry of non-white foreigners into the United States

- The Battle of Turubah, which would determine the fate of the region that would become Saudi Arabia.

                         TRIP TO AURANGABAD

May continued

They had continuing car mishaps all the way to Daulatabad arriving at 6pm. Baba advised he wasn't keen travelling at night to the caves, so they returned to the rest house. Baba was not well during this time and had a sleepless night.

The following day, 27th May at 5am, the group all headed back to Meherabad,  experiencing more car troubles all the way.

During the next few days, Baba mentioned possibly going to Kashmir with the Mandali, then suddenly he changed his mind and decided to travel to Quetta in one car, giving Sarosh* instructions for him to drive, etc.  Later that day, Sarosh returned from Ahmednagar after consulting his father who was totally against his son going anywhere with Baba.

*Sarosh's family owned a car dealership in Ahmednagar and he was the manager.

RD p.334-5

May 1924 Historical Timeline :

27th : The English High Court granted an injunction to the investors of Harry Grindell Matthews, forbidding him from selling the rights to his "death ray" without their consent.

28th : The United States Border Patrol was created.

- The League of Nations demanded the secret of the "death ray" which British inventor Harry Grindell Matthews had claimed to have invented and which he had demonstrated on April 26.

- Max Wallraf was elected as the President of Germany's Reichstag, succeeding Paul Löbe.

29th : A munitions depot exploded two miles west of Bucharest. The city-shaking explosion caused many deaths and damaged the royal palace.

      SAROSH K. IRANI                                                          SAROSH MOTORS

                                       TRIP TO KARACHI & QUETTA

                              2ND VISIT :  JUNE - JULY 1924

The plan took a twist, they now planned on leaving on the 2nd June 1924 by rail to Bombay and then to Quetta.

It was arranged for all the animals at Meherabad  to be offered to Upasni Maharaj  at  Sakori.

Baba along with *Ardeshir ( Director of Agriculture), Ghani, Ramjoo and Vajifdar left for Ahmednagar Railway station in the morning and boarded the train to Bombay via Manmad, arriving at 12:30pm.

When they reached Deolali, the railway station after Nasik, they had to change carriages and through a series of mishaps with luggage, tickets, changing train, some of the men inadvertently boarded the train to Bombay without Baba and Ramjoo.

Deolali was one several major British Army bases that provided treatment for battle wounds and training. This had been operational since the Boar War, and was well know throughout the service. Many servicemen, were accommodated here shortly after the WW2 to be deployed back to the country they had came from.

Baba and Ramjoo went to the nearby bazaar and hired a car to take them to the next railway stop of Lahit, some 4-5 miles / 6-8 kms away towards Igatpuri. Again, mishaps occurred, their hired driver eventually go lost and then Baba and Ramjoo decided to leave the car and walk across fields carrying their belongings to the nearby railway station.

When they arrived at Lahit, a tiny rural town, the Station Master was taken by Baba's appearance and of his connection to Sai Baba of Shirdi. Food and refreshments were provided by him, Baba insisted that the Station Master take RS.10/- that he offered as a gift. A nearby man came over and sang songs for over an hour for Baba and many others also came to listen.

Ramjoo placed a telephone call from the station to Igatpuri where the other men were waiting.

Later, Baba and Ramjoo boarded the next train, met the waiting men and proceeded to Bombay arriving 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

Deolali is 17 kms / 10 miles from Nasik to the East.

June 1924 Historical Timeline :

1st : The June Revolution began in Albania as an army of 6,000 nationalists marched on Tirana.

2nd : U.S. President Coolidge poses with Osage Indian representatives at signing of law granting U.S. citizenship to all American Indians. At the time, there were 300,000 Native Americans in the U.S.

4th : Born - Dennis Weaver, American TV and film actor ( d. 2006 )

DR. GHANI MUNSIFF       RAMJOO JAFFER          HORMUSJI VAJIFDAR               ADI K. IRANI

 DEOLALI  R.S.                               LAHIT  R.S.                                       IGATPURI  R.S.

June continued...

Ghani was told by Baba to wait at his home in Lonavla and to come later.

On the 6th June, Adi had arrived in Bombay, joining the group and the following day ( 7th ) they departed for Quetta on the Gujarat Mail train to Delhi. In the evening they changed trains at Marwar Junction, detaching from the Delhi Mail train and attaching to the J.B. Railway train which proceeded to Hyderabad (Sind), crossing the Rajputana desert.

RD p.341

June continued...

Arriving 8th June in Hyderabad in the morning. Baba sent a telegram telling Rusi Irani saying that he and 3 others would be arriving 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. On 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 Sukkur. 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 a man who helped them by passing them onto many others who were very hospitable and sympathetic, however the land upon inspection was not suitable, especially in the hot summer. They inspected more land by the banks of the Indus River and at other locations. They continued on the next day - 12th, still inspecting more land.

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 the night before.

RD p.343-4

* There are no known images of Ardeshir or Mobedji.

June 1924 Historical Timeline :

8th.: British mountain climbers George Mallory and Andrew "Sandy" Irvine, sought to become the first persons to climb to the top of the world's highest mountain, Mount Everest.

9th : Ecuador became the first nation in South America to extend the right to vote to women.

10th :  The Anglo-Iraqi Treaty of 1922, making Iraq a self-governing British protectorate, was ratified by the Iraqi Constituent Assembly by a vote of 36 to 25, with the United Kingdom having control of Iraq's foreign affairs and Iraq handling its own domestic affairs.

12th : The largest train robbery in American history, based on adjusted value of the money taken, took place as the Newton Gang carried out the robbery of the express mail train, similar to $54.3 million in 2024,in Illinois

- Asphyxiation killed 44 crewmen aboard the USS Mississippi off San Pedro

Born :  George H. W. Bush, 41st President of the United States (from 1989 to 1991)^[49] was born at 173 Adams Street in Milton, Massachusetts (d. 2018).

13th : Gaston Doumergue was sworn in as the 13th President of France, succeeding Alexandre Millerand.

- U.S. Army Lieutenant John A. Macready At McCook, he also became the first airplane pilot to successfully bail out of a stricken aircraft at night.

                 SIBI  RAILWAY STATION                                              QUETTA RAILWAY STATION

             SUKKUR RAILWAY STATION                                                     ROHRI RAILWAY STATION

June continued...

Meher Baba returned to Quetta on the 15th June, not pleased that the men weren't there to meet him Sukkur. Apparently, his reply to Ramjoo's message before he returned to Quetta had been misplaced by the station staff. Baba had purchased some land with the assistance of *Holaram and *Rustomji.

Baba had also visited the tomb of a renowned Muslim local saint - Bachal Shah.

That evening Baba and the party went for a motor spin around Quetta. Baba told Ramjoo to go back to Sukkur, to visit the saint's tomb and to look for a suitable house or them to stay in.

RD p.345

* There are no known images of Holaram & Rustomji.

June 1924 Historical Timeline :

15th : Édouard Herriot became Prime Minister of France.

    Syed Bachal Shah       Syed Bachal Shah Shrine, Sukkur, Pakistan       Hazrat  Babajan

June continued...

On the 17th June, Ramjoo arrived in the morning, selected a bungalow and took a 6 month lease. He then went to the plot of land that Baba had bought where he encountered a lady who had 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 Bachal Shah when he was alive. She had left her family and was addressed as Mastani Mai.

Ramjoo found the man that had been absorbed in Bachal Shah'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 raised other matters related to his home town in Lonavla.  Ramjoo was bewildered. The man said he had spent some time at Lonavla and told him many observations he had made.

In the afternoon, Ramjoo rowed in a boat with a local guide to Sat-Bela ( Sadhu-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.

Ramjoo left Sukkur for Quetta by the 10pm train.

June 1924 Historical Timeline :

17th : Voting was held in South Africa. The National Party of J. B. M. Hertzog gained 19 seats for 63 overall, five short of a majority.

20th : Born - Chester "Chet" Atkins, guitarist and record producer; in Luttrell, Tennessee (d. 2001)

23rd : U.S. Army First Lieutenant Russell Maughan successfully made the first dawn-to-dusk transcontinental flight across the United States, landing at Crissy Field in San Francisco.A journey of 2,670 miles (4,300 km).

28th : A tornado killed 85 people in the U.S. state of Ohio, 72 of them in Lorain, Ohio.

This place in Sukkur was to be the Baba's new seat, but many preferred the temperate climate of Karachi. Loads of their trunks, containing their clothes, bedding, etc arrived and were stored in Sukkur. By the 30th June, most of the Mandali had arrived in Sukkur.

Khodadad Farhad ( Nervous ) developed a fever after an injury to his knee became infected. The injury occurred when Sufi, the horse, struck his knee. Even though he was getting medical care from a European surgeon, from the outset, he was declared to have typhoid. Baba spent considerable time with him. On the 16th July, Nervous passed away, when Baba  arrived in Mach ( Machh ),

Funeral arrangements had been taken care of.

Mach township is between Quetta & Sibi on the same railway line. All the above towns mentioned are now part of Pakistan.

July 1924 Historical Timeline :

1st : Full time airmail service began in the U.S. with a fleet of airplanes transporting the mail day and night.

2nd : Inventor Guglielmo Marconi addressed the Royal Society of Arts in London describing his new beam system of short-wave wireless transmission. Marconi said this system could transmit more words per day between distant countries.

4th : The Caesar salad was created in Mexico by Italian-born restaurateur Caesar Cardini at his restaurant in Tijuana, Caesar's .

Born : Eva Marie Saint, American actress; in Newark, New Jersey

5th : The official opening ceremonies for the Summer Olympics were conducted at Colombes Stadium in Paris, France.

- Rebellion broke out in the Brazilian city of São Paulo as a group of lieutenants and other junior Brazilian Army officers. The revolt would last for 23 days, which 1,000 people were killed and another 4,000 injured.

6th : A presidential election was held in Mexico. Plutarco Elías Calles of the Partido Laborista Mexicano won the presidential election.

10th : Finnish runner Paavo Nurmi performed one of the greatest feats in Olympic history when he won the 1,500m race and the 5,000m race two hours apart. He also won the 10,000m race on the 12th.

14th : Born - Eva Marie Saint, American film and TV actress, 1954 Academy Award for On the Waterfront

16th : The first major nationwide news story in the U.S. about a tall, hairy "apeman" that walked upright, in the Pacific Northwest was published in The Oregonian, the largest circulation newspaper in Portland, Oregon. Later to be known as 'Bigfoot".

Baba arrived in Karachi on the 17th July. The following day 18th July, a large bungalow near the botanical garden & zoo, was arranged for him to stay in, along with the rest of the Mandali who would be arriving soon. Baba also inspected other plots of land in view for their permanent stay.

On the 19th July, Baba and the party went by car to Maghar-Pir ( Manghopir ) about 10 miles from Karachi.

This place had a shrine to a well-known saint and also several hot-water springs which many believed were waters with curing powers. Many lepers were present, hoping to be cured.

The rest of the group had arrived from Quetta including their luggage from Sukkur on the 20th July. Baba and the men mandali all agreed not to settle in Sukkur and so all prior transactions were cancelled and all affected parties were rewarded sufficiently.

RD p.346-351

July 1924 Historical Timeline :

17th : USS Barracuda, submarine "twice as large as any built previously for the United States Navy", was launched in New Hampshire.

18th : U.S. Vice Consul to Iran Robert Imbrie was beaten to death by an angry mob in Tehran after he photographed a gathering at a sacred watering place where a miracle was said to have taken place.

19th : The Napalpí massacre occurred in Argentina when 400 indigenous Toba people were killed by Argentine police and ranchers.

20th : Tehran was placed under martial law.

KARACHI GARDENS & ZOO

North & Central India Tour

3RD VISIT

                    TRIP TO CALCUTTA   11-12th August

Prior to the following trip to Calcutta, Meher Baba and his men Mandali had visited the south of India, to the Hills town of Ooty which is covered in another web page.

Meher Baba and his men left Madras and arrived at Howrah, a suburb of Calcutta at 5 pm, 11th August. They first went to the Moghuls Hotel near the station, staying on the 1st Floor, but the place was filthy, so they moved to the Punjabi Hotel taking a 2nd class room. It was very run-down but clean compared to the others. That night they took a joy ride and did some sight-seeing for 2 hours before returning to their hotel.

            Shri Ramakrishna Paramhansa                      Swami Vivekananda

August continued ...

The next morning - 12th August, they went to Dakshineshwar after crossing the Hooghly River in a launch, to a place associated with Shri Ramakrishna Paramhansa ( 1836-1886) were his disciple - Swami Vivekananda's lived. When they arrived they saw a blind beggar sitting, very neglected, in a dirty place. Baba and his men removed him, cleaned him, then fed and placed him in a better place. They then proceeded to Ramakrishna's Mission visiting  Belur Math the main temple of the Mission, which is situated by the shores of the river.

Baba instructed his men to pay their respects at the room which was once occupied by Shri Ramakrishna. The other rooms were occupied by Vivekananda and others of their circle. They also visited a small tomb which had a small photo of Ramakrishna, Baba gave the caretaker some instructions on how to do devotional exercises. They then returned to their hotel.

LM p.670

RD p.358

Madras to Howrah : 1,661 kms / 1,032 miles ( rail )

                       TRIP TO  KASHMIR  

                  13th August - 9th September

 On the 12th August at 7:30pm, Meher Baba and his 3 men left Calcutta from Howrah Station for Hardwar ( Haridwar ), taking 2 days  to reach. The next day, they changed into the O. & R. Railway at Moghul Sarai Junction, near Benares,  They arrived at Hardwar on the 14th August.

They went to a Hindu travellers' house, but there were no available rooms. However, they were allowed to stay in one part of the verandah. After some time they went to bathe in the sacred Ganges River, but the water at the bathing steps were in a muddied condition, so they returned to the shelter.

* Howrah to Hardwar : 1,517 kms / 943 miles ( rail )

August continued ...

They later hired a Ford taxi car to take them to Rishikesh, about 14 miles / 23kms away, where a number of ascetics lived. The car was very run-down, especially the seats which were torn. In addition, the tyres began deflating and the engine had problems. They decided to take a more costlier and better car instead.

The road was rough and zig-zagged all the way to Rishikesh. When they arrived, Baba bowed to many pilgrims and lepers as he had been doing throughout his tour.

He also had a conversation with an ascetic known as Nepali Baba.

From there they walked to the foot of the Himalayan to a rope bridge ( about 9 miles / 15kms), and then proceeded to the village of * Laxman Zula ( known as the Cradle of Luxman ).

At 1pm, they went back to Hardwar. Once there, they planned a foot journey to Sakori.

Adi and Vajifdar were telegrammed with instructions for Vajifdar to meet them at Lakhsar

( Laskar ) .

* The modern name is Lakshman Jhula & the Rope bridge is now a Suspension bridge named the Janki Bridge. A point of interest, near the village is the ashram the Beatles attended in early 1968.

LM p.671

RD p.359

Note : The 284 ft rope bridge that Baba crossed the Ganges river was washed away 2 months after his visit. A suspension bridge was built in 1930.

The property that the Beatles & other celebrities visited in 1968 for meditation, is now a tiger's reserve.

* Hardwar to Rishikesh : 17 kms / 11 miles ( road )

* Rishikesh to Laxman Zula : 13 kms / 8 miles ( road )

Total return : 30 kms / 19 miles

                         TRIP TO  BARODA 

August continued ...

The next morning 15th August, at 6am, they went to the nearby railway station to wash themselves, because it was too dirty where they were staying. After washing up and having tea, Baba was still not eating. They began their walk towards Lakhsar ( Laskar ). 

Baba was not doing very well, but they continued, but with a heavy kit and a hot sun, they only achieved 10 miles. On arrival at Pathri Railway station, they camped in a meadow. Later on meeting some sadhus, Baba bowed down to them and gave advice. Padri removed a thorn deeply lodged in one of the sadhu's leg and bandaged it.

LM p.671-5

RD p.359-362

     PADRI  DRIVER                      SADASHIV PATEL                       HORMUZD VAJIFDAR

August continued ...

The next morning, 16th August, Baba was still not well; he had no sleep, but he still led the walk, leaving at 5:45am. After 4 miles, a long haired Muslim man approached Baba, and shook his hand before continuing. Baba said he was a 'Abdul', a spiritual agent for Baba's spiritual work. It then started to rain and they took shelter in a cabin near the tracks. They had breakfast, and when the rain stopped, they continued their walk.

Baba broke his fast after he had some hot chutney which he consumed to eliminate his dysentery. They reached Lakhsar at 1pm. After their 9 mile walk, they washed themselves at a public well, ate lunch at a Hindu restaurant and then rested at waiting room of the Railway station. Later they sought accommodation at a nearby Hindu resting place, but the stench of nearby gutters forced them to return to the Station, where they were allowed to stay for 2 days.

The next day, 17th August, Sadashiv Patel was telegrammed to meet them in Benares. Baba spent his time in the town looking for sadhus, bowing, etc. Vajifdar arrived at 4am on the 18th. They were all in agreement to end the foot journey and take the train for Moradabad at 1:30pm, arriving there at 6pm. It was estimated that Baba had bowed down to 5,000 pilgrims in the previous weeks.

In this town, Baba went looking for more sadhus. They met a 'mast' - God intoxicated man, who had not moved from his seated position for 4 years, defecating where he sat. They tried to bath him but he refused.

LM p.671-5

RD p.359-362

* Hardwar to Pathri : 13 kms / 8 miles ( road - walked )

* Pathri to Laksar : 14 kms / 9 miles ( road - walked )

August continued ...

They then departed for Bhopal the next day, 19th August, changing at Lucknow. Padri was sent to Benares to meet with Sadashiv, and from there he was to proceed to Baroda, where they would all join up.

* Laksa to Moradabad  - 141 kms / 88 miles ( rail )

August continued ...

Baba and the remaining men, changed trains at Jhansi and arrived in Bhopal on 20th Aug. in the afternoon, Baba again went to look for sadhus. Adi arrived from Ahmednager and pleaded with Baba to end his wandering and to come back to Meherabad. That night they left for Ratlam, Beheramji was sent ahead to Baroda (Vadodara) to make arrangements.

LM p.671-5

RD p.359-362

Note : The above paragraph mentions 3 distinct rail sections between Lucknow & Ratlam. The following list mentions these rail sections of this journey.

* Lucknow to Jhansi : 312 kms / 194 miles ( rail )

* Jhansi to Bhopal : 292 kms / 141 miles ( rail )

* Bhopal to Ratlam : 285 kms / 177 miles ( rail )

August continued ...

On the train to Baroda, Baba's health suffered so, after arriving, they decided to rest in Baroda for a couple of nights. They reached Ratlam in the morning of 22nd August. Here again, Baba walked about the train seeking sadhus and bowing down to them. They left Ratlam and reached Baroda at 8pm with all the men staying in the Gujarat Hindu Lodge in the Syaii Gunj.

Here Baba stated "After journeying to Mt. Abu, our tour will end and we will return to Meherabad and settle down".

Everyone was glad to hear that. Adi was sent back to Ahmednagar.

In Baroda, they went sightseeing, visiting the Maharaj's palace, museums, art gallery, etc.

Baba changed his plan stating "We will settle in the village of Sinhgarh near Poona. Sinhgarh is a suitable place for the permanent mandali to live. There we all can lead a quiet life since it is secluded and conveniently located with plenty of water. And, besides, it is Babajan's territory !"

LM p.675-6

RD p.363

* Ratlam to Baroda : 262 kms / 163 miles ( rail )

August continued ...

Meher Baba left 2 days later on 24th August at 10pm, and arrived in Ujjain on the 25th at 1pm. Later they found many sadhus on the banks of the Sipra (Shipra) River, lepers were there as well. Money was distributed to them after Baba bowed down to them.

Nearby there was a Shiva Temple on the banks, with some sadhus in a hut next to it. They later left Ujjain at 4pm and arrived at Mortakka south of Indore at 10pm, the same day.

*The nearest railway station to Mortakka is called Omkareshwar Road Railway Station.

* Baroda to Ujjain : 358 kms / 222 miles ( rail )

* Ujjain to Mortakka : 109 kms / 68 miles ( rail )

August continued ...

They slept on the railway platform  and the next morning, 26th August, they rode on a bullock cart to Omkareshwar ( an island in the Namada River ) some 9 miles away to the East; a famous Hindu place of pilgrimage "Mandhata" where Upasni Maharaj had meditated and entered a state of 'samadhi', which then led him to contact Perfect Masters Narayan Maharaj and Sai Baba.

Meanwhile, Padri had dysentery and had remained in the town, Baba was quite ill as well.

LM p.677

RD p.364

* Mortakka to Omkareshwar : 15 kms / 9 miles ( road - bullock cart )

Total return : 964 kms / 599 miles

Perfect Masters : Upasni Maharaj        Sai Baba of Shirdi                 Narayan Maharaj

26th August continued ...

In Omkareshwar, Baba met a Bengali 'pundit' ( a priest or scholar) named Nirmal Ananda Swami; the locals called him 'Mahatma' - a great soul.  Baba spoke in English with the Swami, telling him to disguise himself  so Baba could seek out other sadhus in the area, with his help. Sadhus were found and Baba bowed down to them.

Baba told Sadashiv to bathe in the Narmada River.

They returned to Mortakka ( Omkareshwar Road Railway Station ) at 10pm and departed for Baroda immediately.

The next day 27th August, when Baba's train halted briefly, a Muslim man insisted on meeting 'this man', Baba. After he had taken a block of opium with a chapatti, he shook his hand and started to loudly praise the virtues of Mt. Abu, Baba was impressed by this man and decided to go there.

Later that night, they all arrived again in Baroda  and stayed in the same hotel as before. Sadashiv returned to Poona on the same train.

LM p.677

RD p.364

August continued ...

The next afternoon, 28th August at 4pm, they walked to Pavagarh ( Pavagad ) town and further along reached the foot of the mountain ( Pavagarh Hills ) at 9pm. They made their way through a narrow jungle path reaching a dharmashla and rested for the night. A local policeman urged them all to sleep indoors due to wild animals roaming the jungle.

On the 29th, they awoke at 6am and soon began climbing the steep mountain. Fog had settled during their trek, and Baba was still very sick with his stomach, but he kept a brisk pace, stopping for tea a couple of times. After climbing for 3 miles, they reached the summit and the Hindu temple ( Kalika Mata Temple ) at the top, which was dedicated to 'Kali' - the mother of the Universe.

Baba and the Mandali went into the temple and bowed down to the 'Divine Mother'.

Beyond the temple was the tomb of a Muslim saint *Sajjan Shah Wali, Baba led the men inside and they bowed down on the saint's tomb.

They then hiked to the ruin fort of Pavaghad. They all took in the scenic views of the mountain range and valley and then Baba talked to the men sbout whether they should move there permanently or at the Sinhgad forts near Poona. They then descended the mountain at 12pm and had lunch. They then returned to Baroda at 8:15pm, staying at the Gujarat Lodge.

Baroda to Pavaghad : 55 kms / 34 miles ( rail & walked )

Total return : 110 kms / 68 miles

Webmaster

In the original text in both publications of Ramjoo Diaries & Lord Meher Vol 2, they mention going to Mt. Abu from Pavaghad. The actual location of Mt. Abu in Rajasthan is some 343 kms / 213 miles away. What I believe they were actually implying was that the mount at Pavaghad is the Gujarat version of the actual Mt. Abu. The mention of Mt. Abu in text from the start of the first paragraph above, was removed.

* There is no mention of Sajjan Shah Wali's tomb at Pavagadh, but there was of Sadan Shah Pir.

Sajjan Shah Wali's tomb is located in Jalgaon, some 443 kms / 275 miles away from Baroda.

The old structure when Baba visited in 1924 contained both temples, but in 2022 the tomb of Sadan Shah Pir was dismantled and moved elsewhere and a whole new temple was built. This is part of the Hindu Nationalist policy to ancient shrines.

In the original texts, it's stated they "hiked to a fort" after visiting the temple.

Not sure where this fort is, possibly near Champaner.

The road-path from the village of Pavaghad to the Kalika Mata Temple is a long convoluted trek, especially a century ago, due to the terrain.

Map of India with marker.                                  Topographical maps of Pavaghad Mount

August continued ...

The next day, 30th August, Baba said to the men " Oh God, I am not a Baba!" and then cried out "It is you who have bestowed Baba-hood upon me ! Now sadhus and saints want to crush me !"

It appeared later, all these calls, etcetera, were just Baba goading Padri who was 21 y.o.

He had many disturbing thoughts about spirituality ever since he took the animals- Sufi & Saint to Upasni Maharaj, who would abuse him terribly, this had shaken Padri, very much.

On the 9th September, Baba left Baroda after 18 days and headed for Bombay by train. Adi was telegraphed instructing him to meet them at Vajidfar's home in the Irani Mansion in Dadar. They stayed there for a week; a permanent residence still was not decided.

 * Baroda to Bombay : 394 kms / 244 miles ( rail )

Total trip : Hardwar to Bombay : 2,817 kms / 1,750 miles