read about Jesus, Buddha, the Mahatmas and on Ramakrishna, Milarepa and on Baba.

Their pictures and writings were on the walls.  And now Baba was in his room.

A half hour elapsed before I arrived with Rustom and in the meantime Baba called Margaret upstairs to his sitting room. Of this half hour Margaret says as she sat there, she felt as though she had come home.

The rest of our family were shut up for the moment out of view in some other room, speaking in whispers, following Meredith's instructions. It all had a mysterious atmosphere as though we must walk on tip­toe — which we did. My parents were not even allowed to be in the hall to see Baba arrive!

Into this silent atmosphere, Rustom and I arrived with the rest of the luggage. The hall and other rooms on the main floor seemed already full with bedding rolls, bulging to their utmost capacity. Hadn't Baba said that they were coming for a year!

My bedroom had been put aside for Baba, with Ali sleeping on the floor. A small adjoining room was taken by Meredith. Rustom and Chanji were to sleep on the study floor, on their bedding rolls, and my brother had another small room. Thus, the whole top floor was occupied by Baba and the men with him.

Margaret Craske, my sister May and her two children, and myself slept in a large spare room on a lower floor on beds or on the floor, quite an innovation in those early days before we had been to India! My parents were in the other room and to make things still easier — one large bathroom to accommodate us all — such were the conveniences or inconveniences of the average large Victorian house of the early 20th Century!

The preparation of food! We had been warned by Meredith that our guests would only take certain vegetarian foods, cooked in a certain way. What were we to do? Korzumi*, a Japanese friend of Meredith Starr's, came to the rescue. He was here and undertook to cook the rice. Maggie Barton was here, but left early. Margaret Craske had ordered wonderful fruit and salads; from the vegetarian store in Tottenham Court Road; Audrey Ince provided nut rolls and the cook prepared the soup and junket. We set a table for six upstairs, not bothering Mother or the maids, although Mother was only too anxious to help. She felt it very much to be kept in the background, as Meredith had insisted upon a strange, mysterious atmosphere for Baba's arrival and no one was permitted to even look through windows or peep through doors. Mother and Father, after all, were the host and hostess. Neither of us had attempted to explain who

*Correct spelling is:  KOIZUMI - Japanese jujitsu teacher  who had fought and been honored for services in WWI as a paratrooper, and had been living in London since 1910.

He was Kim's Baba contact. - David Fenster 3-15-06