GULAMASI SATHA
Gulamasi Satha was Gaimai’s sister. Gaimai was Eruch Jessawala’s mother.
On one occasion Meher Baba asked Gulamasi, “How many brothers do you have?” When she replied that she had five, Baba remarked, “I am your sixth brother.”
Nusserwan’s brothers, Piloo Mama, Meherjee Mama and Jemi Mama used to come to Meherabad with their sister Gulamasi. One afternoon when Gulamasi came to see Baba, he was busy grinding grain. Baba beckoned to her to help him grind and she immediately complied. While the flour was being ground, a terrific whirlwind swept through Meherabad, tearing the tin roofs off the buildings and sending them flying. A dust storm followed.
It was evening and the winds were still swirling. Gulamasi began wondering how she would be able to return to Ahmednagar. Baba looked at her and picking up a metal pot beside him, flung it forcefully away. Immediately the storm subsided and the weather became normal! Gulamasi was amazed, and when she returned to Ahmednagar she reported this incident to her brothers, revealing the Master’s power over nature.
Baba would often go to Akbar Press without intimating Nusserwan or the rest of the Satha family that he was coming. He would feel so at home there that he would walk into the kitchen and help himself to whatever he found in the pantry or on the stove. Once when the meal was not ready, Baba picked up a loaf of stale bread meant for the dogs and ate it with some chutney. He would not wait until the food was cooked. After that incident, Gulamasi Satha always kept food aside for Baba, in case he arrived unexpectedly, and only then would she serve the rest of the family. Later, when Baba did not visit Akbar Press for years, Gulamasi still followed this daily practice of keeping food aside for him.
In 1945, an interesting incident took place. One day Meher Baba went to Akbar Press and walked into the kitchen. Since there was no one about, Baba helped Himself to a piece of bread and some vegetable from the pinjra (a screened cupboard for keeping eatables). As he stood there eating the snack, Gulamasi came inside and was shocked to see what appeared to be a stranger standing in her kitchen. Before she recognized Baba, she cried out, “Who’s there?” Hearing her shout, Shirin and her daughters, Meheru and Khorshed, came running to the kitchen. Seeing Baba, they were momentarily taken aback. Gulamasi complained, “Baba, why do you always come like a thief in the night?”
“I am a thief,” he gestured. “If I don’t steal your hearts, how would you remember Me?”
Baba then asked them to shout loudly: “Thief! Thief!” Hearing them, all the men of the family rushed to the kitchen to see what all the commotion was about. They were startled, and then amused, to see Baba in their midst. Baba’s joke was enjoyed by everyone.
Baba turned to Nusserwan and remarked, “You know, I am still using the chaddar I took from you in 1925.”