From Shravan 21, the first week of ‘discipline and restraint’ (Sanyam Saptah) was observed in Kashi. Several distinguished holy men like Yogibhai and Avadhutji attended it. Towards the end of the month, there was a distinguished visitor Sri Shankar Bharatiji, a saint and scholar. Paying respect to MA he said, “I received the command from Jagadamba, go and have a darshan of Mataji before noon tomorrow.”

During Durga Puja, she was at Allahabad. She later went to Calcutta and from there to Nabadweep for a day’s visit along with Haribaba and a group of saints. During Kali Puja and Annakut she was at Pun.

On October 20, she left Pun for a tour of South India along with Haribaba, Avadhutji, Paramanand Swami, Nirvananand, Kamalakant, Gurupriya and many others. Reaching Waltair on the 21st, she left her companions at the Dharamshala and walked out alone. She landed in the colony of the Nuliyas (fish­ermen and traditional life-guards at the beach) and sang “Jai Ganesh’ with them.

She moved on - to Simhachalam, Vijayawada and Guntur, and reached Madras to a rousing recep­tion. At all these places, she visited the temples and holy spots. At Madras, she went to the house of Sir C.P. Ramaswamy Aiyer for a while.

On 29th, she was at Kanchipuram to see the places bearing the memory of Sri Ramanuj. She also went to Pakshiteertha and Mahabalipuram.

At Madras, a devotee asked the way to reach God. MA said “Cry for Hari and you will get Him”. The questioner said he was incapable of crying. Her reply was, “In that case, keep company of those who can.”

On freedom from bondage, she said, “Attach­ment to Him brings joy and freedom. The former attachment gives you a return ticket; you have to shuttle between two points (without getting free).” On November 3, she was at Pondicherry. At eleven in the morning that day she had a meeting with “The Mother”, who stood in the sitting room of Sri Aurobindo. Mother looked at her for a long time with a fixed gaze as MA looked at her with a natural poise. Mother’s eyes blinked after a long time. She presented MA with a rose, a ‘ball’ flower (globe lily) and two pieces of chocolate. MA returned the rose and one piece of chocolate. Mother kept the chocolate but gave the rose back. This exchange of flowers was repeated twice or thrice after which Mother tore a portion off the rose and returned the rest to MA.

The same evening the two had another meeting at the same place. Mother was distributing roasted peanuts to visitors with a spoon from a wooden con­tainer. She offered some to MA who said, “This little girl is the youngest of all.” Mother said in English “Forever a little child.” The singer-saint Dilip Roy, an inmate of Pondicherry, met MA several times during her stay and sang before her.

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