Though Baba’s diet has been very scant, his activities have increased along with the ever-increasing crowds at Meherabad,
folios #212-216, February 1-17, 1926.
The beginning of the month saw Baba and the mandali step back into their busy routines, including Baba’s micro managing of the new school classes.
During his grinding work one morning, Baba ordered “five additional grinders and allotted all the grinding work of the colony to the mandali.” That same day, Baba told Ajoba and his team to either fit the new pump arrangement over the well that day or throw it away. When the mason “slipped away” early, Baba pitched in with more of the mandali to complete the work that night.
The next day, Baba ordered the mandali to start getting up at 5:30am daily. The elevated masonry stage in Sai Darbar was completed, and that Sunday evening “a fancy-dress musical” was held there. With Chanji’s arrival, the play rehearsals had become more systematic. Baba’s mother and brothers had also arrived for his coming birthday, and preparations had begun “on a grand scale.”
Though Baba’s diet had been very scant, his activities had increased along with the ever-increasing crowds at Meherabad. Since the Hindu festival Mahashivratri coincided with a Thursday (day of the Guru) the crowds of people had to wait hours to get “the chance of succeeding in squeezing in Baba’s presence!”
A special meeting was called to make arrangements for the huge demand of drinking water for the birthday, and Baba also instructed a wooden cabin to be made for the Sai Darbar stage. From that Sunday, the festive birthday atmosphere grew daily, yet Baba never neglected his daily showering of attention on everyone. By midweek Meherabad had been elaborately decorated, but Baba was most intent on having Ajoba complete the little cabin.