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We begin the three part series with the
photo of the Sai Darbar taken in the early morning of the 18th
February 1926.
On November 29, 1925, Meher Baba laid
the foundation for a large meeting hall 66 feet by 96 feet, to
accommodate the increasing number of visitors to Meherabad. Named
after Baba’s master, Sai Baba of Shirdi, the name of the
meeting hall refers to the Court of the Master. Situated on the
narrow strip of land between the Ahmednagar Road and the railway line
and next to the Hazrat Babajan School at Meherabad, God’s Court
was made of bamboo matting and corrugated iron sheets. At one end a
stage was constructed for performances.
On 17th February 1926, a small wooden
“box room”, 5 feet by 6 feet by 5 1/2 feet, was completed
on the stage of the Sai Darbar. From this box room Baba would talk
with the mandali, receive visitors and give darshan, and for two
months from March 28, 1926, He remained in seclusion in it. Along
with the Jhopdi, Table-House and west Tank Room (now the Museum) the
box room was one of the four important places at Meherabad where Baba
wrote the book.
The Sai Darbar was demolished by Baba’s
order in November 1926. A brick stand and plaque now mark its
position.
This is the earliest known photograph
of Baba’s ghadi, placed between the open doors of the Sai
Darbar box room and covered with one of Mehera’s finest saris.
(This same ghadi is now kept under the Tin Shed on Meherabad hill.)
This was one of the sites decorated to celebrate Baba’s 32nd
birthday at Meherabad. After a ceremonial bath, Baba took His seat on
this ghadi and the darshan began. Before the day was over it was
estimated that nearly fifty thousand people had passed before Baba.
The doors to the Wineshop were open.
The following excerpt from the Combined
Diaries describes the last-minute construction of the box room on the
stage of the Sai Darbar on 17th February 1926 and continues with a
description of Baba’s Birthday Celebration held on 18th
February 1926. In the typed transcript, adjustments have been made
for readability.
COMBINED DIARIES
pp. 216 – 222
Wed. 17.2.26
Almost all the preparations have been
completed by now. The Sai Darbar, the special bath room, Dhuni,
Jhopdi and the Tank have all been tastefully and elaborately
decorated with buntings, leaves, curtains, flowers and various other
decorations. The wooden box of a room not being ready yet Baba set
after Ajoba with a vengeance today in making him finish the same
tonight. However by midnight even this last item was completed by
Ajoba and four other carpenters who worked at it with a will and the
same was duly placed and also decorated in the centre of the
platform. Hundreds of people of distant villages having already come
for the celebrations, the drama rehearsal tonight had a bumper
audience.
The 32nd Birth-Day
18th February 1926
An Unique Occasion
Great preparations were made in
anticipation of a large number of people coming on this occasion for
their shelter and water arrangements, but the labour of so many days
in this direction proved hopelessly inadequate. From the early hours
of the morning people simply began to pour in from all directions.
Thousands of villagers from all round the surrounding country were
arriving on horse-back, by the bullock-carts as well as on foot with
women and children dressed in a wild medley of holiday colours. While
the city people and outstation visitors were no less. There was a
continuous line of carriages tongas cars and motor lorries arriving,
full of people of all castes and ages and returning empty. After
sometime however about half a dozen motor lorries began to run
regularly to & fro Ahmednagar throughout the day and were always
found to be full of passengers on both sides of their run. Inspite of
many people returning back immediatly after the Darshans the standing
crowd could not have been less than five thousand! At 8 a.m. Baba was
begun to be bathed. The ladies were the first to bath him with due
ceremonies followed by the male members.
Everyone was allowed to use one
tumbler of water only and yet Baba had to silently and cheerfully
undergo the thousands of tumblers poured on him and the same number
of pairs of hands that unconsciously worked havoc with his weak body.
The village music consisting of various kinds of drums and flutes and
a band that was brought over from Ahmednagar played on continuously.
The roaring music was just in conformity to the wild hustle bustle of
thousands of visitors near the bath room. Later on the rush of
outsiders in trying to catch hold of the ever moving tumbler and
pouring the same over Baba got so great that He was almost locked in
between a surging and struggling crowd. At this the whole mandali
took to the task of driving away the mad on-rush and afterwards
forming a cordon of hands round Baba leaving out a reasonable open
space about him and allowing the public one by one. At 9 o’clock
to the disappointment of a large number of people the bathing was
declared to be finished and after a change of linen Baba was
conducted amidst a cordon ring of the mandali to the stage-platform
in the Sai-Darbar. Baba took his seat in the wooden box that was only
recently made ready and which was exquisitely decorated for the
occasion.
Mr. Angal began his Puran. With
suitable similes and parallel examples in history & mythology he
very beautifully dwelt upon the birth and early life of Baba. The
dream that Sheerinbai had witnessed just before the birth was also
narrated publicly for the first time. At 10 A.M. the actual ceremony
was gone through, when there was quite a rain of Abir, Gulal [abir,
gulal] and flowers over Baba’s seat. The garlands and bouquets
presented to him were so many as to completely cover up the whole of
the wooden room in heaps. The final Arti being finished, the mandali
retired for the meals at 11.30. Besides the usual dhal & rice
there was a side dish of potatoes for the dinner. In addition to the
mandali and all the rest of the colony people hundreds of outsiders
also took their meals which was being cooked by Bapu Brahmin almost
throughout the day; being finished up the moment it got ready only to
be cooked again.
After the meals the chief occupation
for Baba and party was to give Darshans to the surging and struggling
crowd that was but swelling beyond imaginations with the advancing
day and to keep the same in check and in order respectively.
The rush continued throughout the day
without a break necessitating the continuous cordon of the mandali
around Baba and also their presence in regulating the wild rush of
those who were always impatient for coming in Shri’s presence.
So much so that the supper was done away with and all had to remain
satisfied with the morning meal. In the evening at about 6 P.M. the
Palanquin procession was got out. Baba was induced upon by the joint
request of the mandali to get in the same. To the accompaniment of
numerous singing parties, bands and music-companies the procession
was started from the Sai Darbar to the Tank on the hill where special
arrangement was made for Arti Pujas etc to be offered by the ladies.
The mandali and party near the palanquin had simply gone wild with
enthusiasm. Amidst scenes of great animation and enthusiasm the
procession advanced slowly towards the hill. By now the number of
crowds could not have been less than ten thousand. At the hill the
ladies paid their homage & devotion under mother Gulmai’s
direction when again a ringing Arti was gone through. While returning
back the palanquin was carried empty as Baba walked with the
procession. Before coming back into the Sai Darbar the procession
wended towards Kaka Shahue’s house. Here again Arti Puja’s
were made and tea served to all in the immediate vicinity of Baba
whether they belonged to the mandali or not.
And thus inspite of the extraordinary
excitement and animation the usual Thursday tea party was not missed.
After that Baba again came and took
his seat in the new room over the stage affording the eager crowds to
take his Darshans. Firm arrangements were made by way of suitable
railing & of human hands forming a way in and out allowing the
visitors one after the other failing which many people would have
been crushed to death. The crowds and hustle bustle was no less
outside the Sai-Darbar.
Throughout the colony there was a
close assemblage of men, women, and children, which was increasing
steadily towards the evening. Dozens of refreshment flower and toy
shops had sprung up on both sides of the road near the ‘Darbar’
while there was no end to the comings and goings of tongas and motor
vehicles which were always full to the utmost. In the evening
beautiful fireworks were displayed for about a couple of hours giving
the finishing touches of grandeur to the great occasion. The crowds
were freely estimated to be nearly 15 to 20 thousand in the evening.
In the night lights, which were liberally spread all over the place,
the scene was all the more lively and bright. The visitors continued
pouring in till midnight and consequently Baba had to remain
continuously in his seat to afford them Darshans. At least fifty
thousand people might have had his ‘sight’ today. However
after midnight Baba retired to his usual seat near the Dhuni and
stopped seeing visitors and the mandali also got in their beds at 1
‘o’clock over-strained and dog-tired with the days work
of ‘fighting’ with an unruly and enthusiastic crowd in
keeping them in order. Even then many people were reported having
gone back disappointed without Baba’s Darshans on their arrival
long after the mid-night.
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