MEHERAZAD

 
Baba lived in Meherazad from 1944 till He dropped His body on the 31st of January, 1969. "Azad" means free. Meherazad is situated nine miles from Ahmednagar near the village of Pimpalgaon at the foot of the Tembi hill. Two cabins had been built on the hill, one on the summit and one on a ledge a little further down. Baba remained in seclusion in the upper cabin. Due to bad weather and great inconvenience, both the cabins were brought down and reassembled in Meherazad within forty eight hours.

The house which had originally been a rest house for engineers working on the nearby reservoir was where Baba stayed first with the women Mandali. Another two-storied house was built later to which He and some women Mandali shifted. His room in which He dropped His body is a large simple one. This house stands in a beautiful garden with a variety of shrubs and shady trees. Giving colour to the whole are the wide-spreading Gulmohrs, which when in bloom are a concentrated mass of crimson.

The quarters for the men Mandali are rather primitive, consisting of a row of small rooms. Opposite Baba's two storied house is the four room old rest house in which some of Baba's Western lovers stayed when they visited Baba. At present it is used as an office by Mani and Rano. In Meherazad there is also the body of the blue bus in which Baba had travelled all over India in 1938-1939 with Elizabeth Patterson driving most of the time. The bus was meant for sixteen but carried twenty six passengers plus untold luggage and so had to be prematurely retired. Now the bus body has been set on an improvised base for Baba to sit in during His seclusion. At present, the surgical bed on which Baba dropped His body has been placed in the blue bus.

Meherazad estate covers some five acres and forms an oasis which is an earthly paradise of beauty and colour. It is a place blessed most with the physical presence of Baba. By day intense but quiet activity continues from dawn to sunset, and at night peace of such profundity prevails that it surpasses all understanding.