A gradual incline led up to the slopes of Jubilee Hills, situated just outside Hyderabad city, where gypsies had camped 100 years earlier. Now, it was an area where wealthy Muslims lived in lavish bungalows, with lovely gardens.

One such Muslim was building a secluded house there, which Meher Baba and the women mandali were to occupy from 1 April 1945. In a walled compound thick with trees, steps led uphill to the front verandah, but the back of the house was level with a landscaped garden. A flagstone path went to a kitchen far away, and on one side of the compound was a guesthouse that had two rooms and a verandah surrounded by creepers.

The house had a swimming pool, built so that the Muslim women of the family (in purdah) could swim without being observed from the road or garden. The medium-sized pool had a gray-blue tiled bottom with white stars, and a fountain at its head. A large pond in the back garden, in which the children could play, was decorated with a miniature lighthouse, rocks, and a few sailing boats.

A story was told by Margaret that while the house was still under construction, a yogi came and sat opposite it:

"He goes into meditation and then pronounces that the greatest spiritual personality in the world is coming here.

"The owner says, 'How's that? This is my house,' little knowing that soon Meher Baba is coming to occupy it."

Mehera noted, "How fortunate that Baba used this house before anyone else."

Although the owner had wanted to complete the house before they moved in, Baba was eager to occupy it and would not wait. Don and Rano were sent to persuade him. "Only the lampshades are left," the owner told them in a beseeching tone.

"We don't want them," they replied.

"But what about the locks? At least let me have locks installed before you move in."

Presumably the locks were fitted, but some of the light fixtures were still only naked bulbs when Baba and the women mandali arrived. The washbasins had no faucets, and work remained to be done on the windows. But there was a thick red, Persian carpet in the hallway, and the house was partially furnished — though they had to supply their own beds.

An amusing exchange involving the beds happened two days before they were to move in. They had acquired iron cots and a few plain, unpolished beds and tables from some Europeans who were selling their furniture. Baba told Kitty, Rano, and Don to shift the furniture into the house, and the owner was quite surprised to see Westerners moving such ordinary furniture into his posh residence.

Kitty and Rano chose the front room for Baba's bedroom. Down the hallway, next to it, was a bedroom for Naja and Meheru, which was small but big enough for them. Mehera and Mani shared a room with a large bay window and a fountain opposite their door. But they still needed a third bedroom for Kitty, Rano, and Margaret. (The two servants, Rakhma and Lakshi, stayed with Walu in another room.)

A dining room with a large crystal chandelier had an aquarium built into the wall, between the dining and drawing rooms, with glass on four sides; in one corner was a small sink where one could wash. The garden was just outside the window, with the swimming pool beyond. They decided that this room would be suitable for their bedroom. But just as they started hauling in their beds, the landlord arrived.

"Madam, this is the dining room," he informed Rano.

"Yes, yes, we know," she said, feeling embarrassed, "but we want to use it as a bedroom."

"But it is the dining room!" the man protested.

As the women pushed the dining table to one side, Rano explained, "There are so many of us, and we need the space." The poor man was confused and must have wondered what sort of people were coming to stay in his house.

"Wherever we went," Mehera observed, " we seemed strange to outsiders."

Later, they put the large dining table and chairs on the spacious back verandah, so that they could have a view of the garden while they ate, and here spent much of their time.

The two Kotwal girls, Hilla and Najoo, were in boarding school in nearby Secunderabad and were permitted to visit on weekends and holidays. Once, Hilla was hospitalized with smallpox. The young teenager was naturally concerned that her face would be scarred from the illness, but when Baba visited her, he passed his hands over her face and assured her she would be all right. She recovered — without a mark on her face.