This extensive collection originates from Mehera's firsthand narrative gathered from over 200 hours of tape recordings made by David Fenster, from the years 1974 to 1982. These recordings feature Mehera, Mehera J. Irani, Avatar Meher Baba's foremost woman disciple, and several men and women mandali members. The recordings were made primarily at Meherazad, Pimpalgaon, Maharashtra, India. 

and pressed my cheek against his for quite a few seconds. Baba just sat there. I looked up in his eyes. He looked straight at me with such a tender, loving look in his eyes. There was a very sweet and tender expression in his eyes. It was very beautiful. Sometimes, when you felt that way, you wanted to kiss and embrace Baba. I still remember that. It has remained in my mind all this time.”

Audio file

Content

Text

DF-059B: Mehera J. Irani; Rano Gayley
Mehera: Playing games; cheating; teaches cricket
Rano: She & Kitty Bombay jobs during New Life; Teaching at school; Baba calls them to Mahabaleshwar; Hyderabad; After the New Life

TEXT

DF-060A: Rano Gayley
After New Life; Her operation; Scarsdale, NY; The Accident; France; 1934 Albuquerque agent contact & Hollywood & NYC; She goes with Ruano to Zurich to see Baba

TEXT

DF-060B Rano Gayley; Mehera J. Irani
Rano: Ruano hungry on train
Mehera: Riding trains; Washing Baba’s face; 1968 Baba tells Goher not to tell Mehera about His health; Shoes; Nasik; Baba loved music

TEXT

DF-061A: Mehera J. Irani
1962 Darshan; Chinese; Wai; Birds at Meherabad, calf, rabbits; Cooking Kitchari, grinding masala; “I am the Ancient One”; “Prayers of all the world come to Me”; Sai Baba’s tomb

TEXT

DF-061B: Mehera J. Irani; Rano Gayley
Mehera: Sai Baba; Sakori; Upasni; Babajan
Rano: Reviews Hermes’ photos

TEXT

DF-062A: Rano Gayley; Mani S. Irani
Rano: Reviews Hermes’ photos
Mani: Reviews Hermes’ photos

TEXT

DF-062B: Mani S. Irani
Mani: Reviews Hermes’ photos

TEXT

DF-063A: Mani S. Irani; Mehera J. Irani
Mani: Reviews Hermes’ photos
Mehera: She’s a late sleeper; Baba’s Love is beautiful

TEXT

DF-063B: Mehera J. Irani
Reading to Baba; Rustom’s wedding; Baba first comes to Meherabad; She likes good clothes; Sakori; Sitting before Baba; Baba asked her, “What do you do?”

TEXT

DF-064A: Mehera J. Irani
Baba at Khorshed’s house, Bombay; Baba at Colombo, coconut palms; Baba’s teeth pulled; Garlands; Dressing gowns; Movies: Laurel & Hardy; His Silence & favorite foods; Guruprasad chair; Baba’s humor

TEXT

DF-064B: Mehera J. Irani
Baba in mirror; 1925 singing competition; WWII; P.O. bldg; “I’m in love with Myself”;’ Marathi arti; Shirinmai told to not go against Mehera; WWII; Bujave arti

TEXT

DF-065A: Mehera J. Irani
July 10 Silence; Lonavla; Bujave; “Beloved God” prayer; Master’s prayer; Elections; Village weddings; “I’ll bring out My sword”; Kulu Valley; Naja’s father; Pink coat; RR station; Massaging feet; Alphabet board

TEXT

DF-065B: Mehera J. Irani; Eruch B. Jessawala
Mehera: 1968 B-day; Goat; Kaka; Cutting Baba’s hair; “My Darling Baba, Prince Charming”; Soap dish; Rano reading to Baba; Baba’s eyes; His work; Summer; Christ’s Cradle flower;
Eruch: Reviews Hermes’ photos

TEXT

DF-066A: Eruch B. Jessawala
Eruch: Reviews Hermes’ photos
Rano:
Mehera: Videotape No. 16

TEXT

DF-066B: Mehera J. Irani
She tells the story of the Tree
Videotape No. 16, 18, 20

TEXT

DF-067A: Mehera J. Irani; Bhau Kalchuri; Freiny Irani Mehera: Videotape No. 20, 21
Bhau: Baba is available to His lovers today; How Baba would ask Bhau to sit on His bed

TEXT

DF-067B: Freiny R. Irani
Her family; Mehera; Her husband; Baba; Reviews family photos

TEXT

DF-068A: Freiny R. Irani
Freiny: Family; Husband; Mehera; Baba

TEXT

DF-068B: Mehera J. Irani
Life in Sakori; Post Office, Meherabad; Khorshed; Sending coffee to Baba; Silence; Cooking

TEXT

DF-069A: Mehera J. Irani
Baba come for food at Post Office; First time Westerners arrived; Poona Flood; Green favorite color; 1938 Panchgani; Guruprasad

TEXT

DF-069B: Mehera J. Irani
Mani enters singing contest; Baba’s electric razor & safety razor; False teeth; His suffering; Going to movies; Dr. Alu’s kitchen fire; Fred Winterfeldt; Elizabeth Patterson, ‘62 East-West Gathering; Bombay Circus; Sai Baba; TV in the US; Baba’s airport photo; Playing checkers; Goher’s goats; Bronx Zoo in 1952

TEXT

DF-070A: Mehera J. Irani
Brookgreen Gardens zoo, 1952; Baba firsts comes to Meherazad; Aurangabad; Babajan; Riding camel with her father; Father’s tiger hunt; Col. M.S. Irani

TEXT

DF-070B: Mehera J. Irani
Col. M.S. Irani; Meherazad; Kabir; Baba understood Urdu & appreciated Qawwali; Baba rides bicycle

TEXT

DF-071A: Mehera J. Irani
Brush His hair; Kiss nap of His neck; Pressing cheek-to-cheek; Westerners; Panchgani; Meherabad 1938; Meherazad has poor soil, Ahmednagar dirty; Myrtle Beach 1952; Cooking for Baba; Babajan; Played piano as a girl

TEXT

DF-071B: Mehera J. Irani
Horoscope; Vegetarian; Reading to Baba; Myrtle Beach-1952; Tennessee; Colombia, SC; Rock City, TN; Veranda chairs; Baba moves downstairs; Baba on veranda; Smelling His sadra; Climb hill on all fours; Walk to Happy Valley; Garden; Babajan’s tomb; Guruprasad

TEXT

DF-071B: Mehera J. Irani; Meheru Irani
Mehera: Traveling from Guruprasad to Ahmednagar; Myrtle Beach; Old house-Meherazad; Baba’s gestures; Deer-Meherazad
Meheru: Wadia Park Darshan, 1954

TEXT

DF-072B: Mehera J. Irani
Making photo frame; Rabbits; Parrots, Minah bird; With father in Gujarat; Arnavaz brings lobster; Baba steals cheese from Mehera’s plate; Toka; Mt. Abu; Toilets in fields in Post Office days; Baba’s slate writing/board; Baba grinds corn

TEXT

DF-073A: Mehera J. Irani
Baba’s favorites-spinach, moti, bhaji; Prem Ashram flowers; Baba’s garland; Gurarati arti; Baba’s singing & interpreting songs; Baba teaches songs; He kept silence in Bombay; She brings storybooks to M’bad; Her mother; Nasik; Freiny; Valu

TEXT

DF-073B: Mehera J. Irani
Telegram from Baba; Her childhood pet; Peter, Her father; Baba knew her father; Seclusion; Old house-Poona; Dehru Dun rain; Her B-day-Moradabad; Sadhu comes; Telling Baba about her father; Piano in Junagar; The zoo

TEXT

DF-074A: Mehera J. Irani
Junagar fair; Serving Baba; Baba’s hari; Bhuti, Mastan; Servants garland; Raipur cook pudding for Baba; M’abad hill; Baba’s laugh; Baba’s tears; 1924-M’abad; Goraknat; Baba’s hair; Charades-Cannes

TEXT

DF-074B: Mehera J. Irani
Games, treasure hunts; Happy Valley picnics; Clothes; Mahabaleshwar-1958; Watching sunset; Baba’s breakfast; Tea, coffee; Baba: hard as steel, soft as butter; Quetta-1924; Bombay-Making dhokpak puri

TEXT

DF-075A: Mehera J. Irani
Dhoodpak puri, Potato patties; Baba’s food; Baba loved to cheat at games; He was a sportsman, loved cricket; Rustom & Sohrab dress as Ann Conlon; White horse in New Life; Musoorie; Dehra Dun; Begging food-New Life

TEXT

DF-075B: Mehera J. Irani
Monkeys steal food-New Life; Baba teases Dr. Alu & Naja; Baba’s beating; She goes to Sakori; He dictates Gugerati prayer; Combing His hair; Clothes; P.O. Bldg; Col. Irani

TEXT

DF-076A: Mehera J. Irani
Criticism of Baba; No touch men; Nasik; Baba plays cricket-Lonavla; Baba in Santa Cruz-1925; Khorshed; M’abad early days-water; Babajan comes to M’abad; Blue Bus tours; Mitu the parrot

TEXT

DF-076B: Mehera J. Irani
Mahabaleshwar; Mitu, Her coat; Blue Bus-Hyderabad; Jabalpore; ‘Nagar; Baba’s bed; Her mother’s silence; The early days

TEXT

DF-077A: Mehera J. Irani
Norina meets Baba; Early days; Baba’s favorite fruit; Mother’s family; Father’s death; Col. Irani

TEXT

DF-077B: Mehera J. Irani
Col. Irani; Big chair-Veranda; Remove chappals to enter Baba’s room; Household furniture; New Life; Baba-visions; “Those who want to see Me won’t be able to”-1968; Photo of Baba

TEXT

DF-078A: Mehera J. Irani
Early days; On train; “I’ll make you like Babajan”; Parvati slap you; Eat chicken; No touch men; 31 Jan 1968; Coming to Baba; Her sister’s wedding; Mehera sits beside Baba;

TEXT

DF-078B: Mehera J. Irani
Early days; Baba’s hand; P.O. Bldg; She tells Baba she doesn’t like getting up early; Baba is love; He suffered; Prince Charming; 21 Jan 1968; Baba drops body; Baba’s eyes; Living without Him; Daily schedule

TEXT

DF-079A: Mehera J. Irani
Working the garden-Baba likes; Books read out to Baba; Being with Baba; JFK assassination; Nasik-1932; Kashmir-1944

TEXT

DF-079B: Mehera J. Irani; Goher Irani
Mehera: Raipur, Bombay, Nagpur-1940s; Story: Car breaks down, horn, cinema, door stuck; Train Rano hits woman; Muree, Chanji dies
Goher: Talking about Mehera

TEXT

DF-080A: Goher Irani
Talking about Mehera

TEXT

DF-080B: Goher Irani
Talking about Mehera

TEXT

DF-081A: Goher Irani
Talking about Mehera

TEXT

DF-081B: Goher Irani
Talking about Mehera

TEXT

DF-081A: Goher Irani; Mehera J. Irani
Goher: Talking about Mehera
Mehera: Australian Mary Bennet comes to M’azad; Speaking to Baba in Gujerati; She heard Baba speak Dari; Christian stops them in Poona-1974

TEXT

DF-082B: Mehera J. Irani
Christian story; She asks Babajan for a white horse; Baba didn’t like grease on His face; She applies cream to Baba

TEXT

DF-083A: Mehera J. Irani
She applies perfume & powder to Baba; Baba listens to radio program; Jesus & Mary; She kisses Baba photo; Baba tells her she’ll come back with Him; Dying; Baba gives her Vivekananda article-Nasik, 1927-31

DF-083B: Mehera J. Irani
Post Office; Wears dress to school; Bicycling; Baba wears her jacket-P.O.Bldg; Baba exercises, Mehera counts; Guruprasad; Riding elephant with Katy; Ride elephant on circus-Sukkor; Sheba; Mastan; Siamese cat

TEXT

DF-084A: Mehera J. Irani
Cat ran to Baba; “Many will want to see Me…”; Mehera dreams of Baba; Photos-1957; Baba’s eyes, feet, talking; Looking at Baba photos

TEXT

DF-084B: Mehera J. Irani
Early M’bad-Bathroom bldgs; When they would fast-1948

TEXT

DF-085A: Mehera J. Irani
Mani helped Donkin with Wayfarers; Performing plays for Baba; Baba’s mother-going to plays, balcony full

TEXT

DF-085B: Mehera J. Irani
Baba’s mother-Bangalore; She kisses Shireenmai’s hand; Mehera’s mother; She likes sweet tea; Baba’s breakfast; Big chair on Mehera’s Veranda; M’azad evening routine

TEXT

DF-086A: Mehera J. Irani
Baba goes to His room, holds onto her arm; 1956 Accident; Mehera crying; Baba loved music; Baba exercises at M’azad; His legs like Jesus’; Going to Baba’s room in morning; Donkin finds baby owl-Mahabaleshwar; cobra

TEXT

DF-086B: Mehera J. Irani
Cobra-M’azad; M’abad; Valu collects scorpion; Kulu Valley, women have goiters, ask Baba to heal; Poona, Guruprasad-Baba takes to see Dhake-1940s; Jungali Maharaj’s Tomb-Baba, [He’s ] “on 6th or 7th plane; Garlands; She gives tour to John Connor; She sits on Baba’s bed; Cannes treasure hunt; M’abad

TEXT

DF-087A: Mehera J. Irani
She sits with Baba under the stars-M’abad; Play darts=Cannes; In childhood, she asks grandmother for biggest piece; Baba at Guruprasad; He eats popcorn; No age distinction in ashram; Kenmore; Dec 5th Accident-Satara; Papa Jess-1959; Kenmore; Baba’s miracle is that you all love Him; As a child, she rode a buffalo

TEXT

DF-087B: Mehera J. Irani
She got lice from the buffalo; Satara accident; Baba’s hair; Collected stones on Baba’s hill; She went to Chand Bibi during Rustom’s wedding; London-1952 saw crown jewels; Madame Tussards; Baba’s tree; Mastan; Baba’s tree; Khorshed sees Baba twice

TEXT