Clerk, Collector's Office, Revenue Department, (Old Customs House) living at Venkateshwar Press, Chawl, near Sandhurst Road, Bombay
23rd September, 1936.
At my first visit there was severe storm and rain for quarter of an hour when I was with Baba at the masjid. I then thought that if the rains beat like that streams would swell and getting back to my place at Bombay would be difficult and Baba would not grant me early leave to go away. Baba then looked at the sky and said.
"Oh God! Enough, stop the rain. My children have to go back home. Let them go back without difficulty". As he spoke, the rains became gentler and feebler. I felt that Baba knew my innermost thoughts. Then he gave me leave to go and I caught the Punjab Mail and took Udhi and tirtha to my mother as stated above. Ill (IV) 359. The night after my return my sister-in-law dreamt that a fakir robed in a Kupani and wearing a towel on his head was in our house. This I felt was proving what Baba said, "I will accompany you home". Baba is in our house.
Santa Cruz, 19th October, 1936
Baba's kindness to my family was, I repeat, very great. When my wife begot "Babu", she resolved to make Baba, her father-in-law's household God. It is our custom for a lady that begets a child, when she goes to her husband's house, to fill up one end of her cloth with some wheat, coconut and fruits, tie them into a knot and unburden herself of these before her father-in-law or his Gods, ie., domestic images. My wife tied up these articles and carried these, as also Babu when he was four months old, to Sai Baba st Shirdi. Baba readily received the articles on a plate and took up Babu in his arms. He then endearingly addressed "Babu, where had you been? Were you vexed with, or weary of me?" To mark the joyous arrival of Babu at Shirdi, Baba pulled out two rupees from his own pocket, got burfi (sweets) for that amount and distributed it exactly, as they do, on the occasion of a son's birth. This was in 1912.
On this occasion, Baba pointed to the village wall stone arch and said, "Whoever rebuilds this, will get blessings. "My wife asked him for permission to rebuild it and gave it. Then I paid Rs.600 to N.Chandorkar to rebuild it. On this occasion, Baba said, "Babu's bungalow is beautiful and ready". I guessed that Baba meant that I should buy the Bungalow I now live in. So within two months, I got a lease of it and occupied it and in six months thereafter I bought it. Baba's words thus were fulfilled by my purchase and Babu had a beautiful bungalow in 1913.
Babu was again taken to Baba for his first birthday and again commemorated it by buying Rs.2 worth of sweets (Burfi) and distributing it to all. On this occasion, Baba asked very significantly about Babu, "Has he no brother and no sister?" My wife, with some degree of bashfulness answered, "You gave us this Babu only". In fact, we had a daughter at that time. Baba's words were construed as a blessing that we would get one more son and one more daughter. That is exactly what happened. To commemorate Babu's first birthday at Shirdi, a grand dinner was prepared at Madhav Rao Deshpande's residence and all were invited. That was a Thursday. Bala Saheb Bhate excused himself from attending it on the ground that on a Thursday his rule was to avoid dining out. But when he went to Baba that day, Sai Baba asked him:
S.B: Have you dined at Bhao's (ie. Pradhan's) place?
B.B: Baba, today is Thursday.
S.B: What if?
B.B: I do not dine out on Thursdays. That is my rule.
S.B: To please whom do you observe this rule?
B.B: To please you.
S.B: Then I tell you to go and dine at Bhao's.
Though it was 4 p.m. Balasaheb Bhate came up to me, told me what Baba had said and dined with us.