love at first sight

MEMORABLE STAY AT ELURU
1954 - PART VII
"Breaking" the Silence
A little after 11:00 on the night of February 22, Meher Baba reached Eluru. This time also, as in the previous year, He stayed in Katta Subba Rao's garden, in the two-room cottage known as the Kuti. The host had done all he could to make sure that Baba and His party would be comfortable. The Kuti was decorated and provided with furniture, while temporary electric lights had also been installed. The verandah had been extended by means of an awning, creating a covered area in front of the Kuti for Baba and others to sit under.
A temporary thatched pandal-type structure had been erected for Baba's mandali and the Andhra lovers traveling with them. It had folding cots for all, with a chair next to each cot. Latrines, bath rooms, a kitchen and dining hall had also been thoughtfully arranged. So loving and lavish was the host that when all reached Eluru, Baba jokingly warned us to be careful about our stomachs as Subba Rao would, in his hospitality, undoubtedly tempt us to overeat!
Although it was late, before Baba could retire to His room for rest, He was surrounded by some of the Baba families of Eluru. Ever compassionate and willing to sacrifice His own comforts to please His lovers, Baba greeted them and then permitted them to sing His arti.
When the mandali reached their quarters, they found that Subba Rao had prepared tea for all and it was certainly welcome and refreshing after the night journey. This sort of loving concern for the well-being and comfort of Baba's mandali was typical of all our hosts in Andhra Pradesh. But like different voices singing the same sweet song, no one expressed it in exactly the same way.
The next day, as was customary during tours with Baba, all woke up early in the morning, at around 5:00. By 7:00 we were
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all gathered under the nicely decorated awning which was facing Baba's Kuti. Carpets had been spread on the ground to sit on. There was also a special tent pitched nearby for Gabriel Pascal, who was expected to arrive to film Baba.
Pascal was a famous Hollywood movie producer whom George Bernard Shaw had called a "genius" for his brilliant adaptation of Pygmalion to the screen. Pascal had met Baba in Zurich in 193428 and had been enthusiastic about producing a film on Baba's life under the title, "The Slippers of the Perfect Master." He was also interested in making a movie on Gandhi. He was supposed to come to India to be with Baba, especially so he could film Baba on His birthday. Pascal had even bought his ticket to fly to India but his life was in turmoil and, at the last minute, he could not make it.