First-person testimony · Part III

Minathai Ganesh Kuvalekar

Context

Minathai Ganesh Kuvalekar's statement appears at page 215 of Part III. She is one of the named female-witness contributors.

About the 1936 statement

One of the Part III female-witness testimonies.

Verbatim excerpt from Narasimha Swami (1940s)

ful after palmful of rupees from the trunk to fakirs and others, who were gathering there in crowds wait ing for such windfalls. The entire money was in a few minutes thus gifted away. H.S.Dixit felt in no way disconcerted at the disappear ance of his hard-earned cash. A few words on Balasaheb Bhate may next be mentioned. At college, he was a free thinker, a free smoker, a veritable charvaka, whose creed may be thus summed up, “Eat, drink and be merry to day, for tomorrow we die’. Katr vatra Bhante tatra Dhumaha I used to remark jocularly at his inveterate smoking being myself free of the tobacco habit. He became mamlatdar and was a very efficient officer much liked by his collector. He was Mamlatdar of Kopergoan for about 5 years (1904-1909). All that time he was scoffing at his edu cated friends (who met him on their way to Shirdi) having any re spect for Sai, whom Bhate described as ‘as a mad man’. The friends asked him just to see Sai Baba once and then form his judgement. In 1909, Bhate camped at Shirdi and saw Sai Baba day after day. On the fifth day Sai Baba covered him with a gerua garment. From taht day, Bhate was a changed man. He did not care for earnings or work.

Source: B. V. Narasimha Swami, Devotees' Experiences of Sri Sai Baba (All India Sai Samaj, Madras, 1940s; reprint Akhanda Sainama Sapthaha Samithi, Hyderabad). PDF on Internet Archive · OCR full text. Excerpt matched on the term: Minathai. This is the canonical English excerpt; please consult the original PDF for context.