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U.S. telephone prefix:
011-91-241-number
Ahmednagar (often shortened to Nagar) is located about 117 km (73 miles) northeast of Pune in a predominantly agricultural district. A drive through downtown Ahmednagar is a challenging obstacle course round yellow and red S.T. buses, trucks spewing forth smoky exhaust, three-wheeled motorized rickshaws, scooters, and bicycles that materialize out of nowhere, horse-drawn tongas, and the ever-present stray cow or dog.
Outside the city, village life still follows traditional patterns. Women dressed in brilliant saris with large brass pots balanced securely on their heads visit the village well each day to draw water. Farmers work the land with bullocks and handheld plows and carry their crops to market in small wooden carts. If there is enough rain, village fields are green with millet, wheat, sugar cane, mangos, and other fruits and flowers. In recent years, scooter factories and other industrial plants, as well as a flurry of television antennas, have also begun to dot the landscape.
Meher Baba first visited the Ahmednagar area in 1923, staying at Khushru Quarters, the present site of the Avatar Meher Baba Perpetual Public Charitable Trust. Throughout the years, He made Ahmednagar a center for His work, first at Meherabad near the village of Arangaon, 10 km (6 miles) to the south, and later at Meherazad near the village of Pimpalgaon-Malvi, 14 km (9 miles) to the north.
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When you arrive in Ahmednagar, you must first register at the Pilgrim Registration Office in the Avatar Meher Baba Trust compound, also known as the Meher Nazar compound. The Registration Office assists Baba followers with police registration in Ahmednagar. It also reconfirms reservations for the Meher Pilgrim Centre. |
Before beginning your stay at the Pilgrim Centre, you will need to register at this office, located off King's Road. Office hours for registration are 10:00 am to 6:00 pm daily for those with reservations. Otherwise, you will find the office closed Saturday and Sunday. Be sure to bring three passport-sized photographs with you.
If you arrive in Ahmednagar when the Pilgrim Registration Office is closed, you'll have to wait to register until the office is open. If you have made prior arrangements to stay at some place other than the Pilgrim Centre, and you are expected at that hour, just go directly there. Otherwise, at night or in the early morning, go to either the Amar or Sanket Hotel by rickshaw and take a room or wait until the Registration Office opens.
Meher
Pilgrim Center (residential) : 011-91-241-24563
The Meher Pilgrim Centre is an accommodation facility provided by the Avatar Meher Baba Trust for people visiting Meherabad. This attractive and comfortable building accommodates fifty-six in rooms housing one to eight people. Men and women are housed separately. Initial bookings are made for up to two weeks. Space permitting, your stay may be extended. (During busy times, other pilgrim facilities at Meherabad are used for those whose M.P.C. stay cannot be extended.) Transportation to Meherazad is available several days a week. The Pilgrim Centre serves only vegetarian food; meat and fish cannot be stored or consumed on the premises. Illicit drugs and alcoholic beverages are also not allowed, and guests are expected to have given up illicit drug use entirely.
Reservations for rooms should reach the office six weeks in advance of your expected arrival. This gives the staff time to respond in writing either confirming your reservation or advising you of alternative accommodations.
Office
(Emergency
only) : 011-91-241-23666,
[-58733,
-48736?]
For emergency assistance in Ahmednagar, contact:
Pilgrim Registration Office
Avatar Meher Baba Trust
King's Road, Post Bag 31
Ahmednagar, Maharashtra State 414 001
Cable: MEHERBABA, AHMEDNAGAR, MAHARASHTRA, INDIA
