2548MEETINGS & DARSHANS1946

The next morning, 1 October 1946, Baba contacted Lal Sain, the fattest mast any of them had ever seen. He looked to be at least 500 pounds, and was always seated on a sidewalk, opposite a restaurant (which must have fed him regularly!) This mast was so obese, he even slept in a seated position, as he could not lie down due to his tremendous size, nor could he get up on his feet and walk. In any case, he was a good mast in Baba's terms.

Pendu and Adi Sr. had left Hyderabad the previous afternoon by train for Sehwan. On the 1st, Baba, Eruch, Baidul and Kaka also left for Sehwan by the morning train. When they arrived, Baba worked with Nadir Ali Shah, an advanced pilgrim connected with the Qutub Makhdum Ali Lal Shahbaz, who had lived centuries ago in Sehwan. Nadir Ali Shah was said to have stood once in a pit in the jungle for two years without moving, subsisting only on liquids. For the past twelve years, Nadir Ali Shah had subsisted only on milk, water and soda water. He lived at the shrine of the Qutub, and dutifully kept the tomb clean and in good repair.

Baba also contacted a fifth-plane mast known as Nur Ali Shah Pathan, famous in Sehwan. He was a good mast, but quite dirty, and he carried a tattered bundle of bed-sheets. Baba had to wait eight hours, from two in the afternoon until ten that night, before he could work with him, because during the day the mast was surrounded by devotees, and private contact was not possible. It was scorchingly hot in the afternoon, and clean drinking water was difficult to find in the town, but no physical suffering could deter Baba where his work with masts was concerned. Baba waited patiently and suffered thirst for hours until the crowd faded, and he was able to be alone and work with the saintly mast.

At midnight, Baba, Kaka and Eruch met Pendu and Adi at the railway station. They boarded the night train for Sukkur, where they arrived the next day and checked into two rooms at the modest Star Hotel. After a hasty breakfast they set out for more mast contacts. (Baidul had already been to all the places and knew where to contact the masts.)

On 2 October 1946, Baba contacted Qazi Saheb in Sukkur. This high mast, originally from Kabul, had a peculiar laugh. He would ask people who approached him to sit on his palm. He would rarely move from his seat in a lavatory, which he had occupied for over ten years. But when Baba approached, he began changing places, until Baba finally "cornered" him in a nearby college yard.