Yet new sources of water have meant that many more trees have been

Yet new sources of water have meant that many more trees have been able to be planted in the surrounding countryside, so that the arid moonscape of early photographs has been replaced by a land that, while not exactly lush, is starting to look fertile.The focal point of Meherabad is the tomb that houses Meher Baba’s body. This might seem slightly strange and morbid, but it’s really rather beautiful once you understand the reasoning behind it. In India, there is the tradition of great teachers giving what is known as darshan, whereby ordinary people can have an audience with them and, simply by asking for help, receive a push forward spiritually. Before he dropped his body, Meher Baba had been in a long period of seclusion but he said that, despite ill health, he would find a way to give darshan to his followers.

He died before he could carry out this promise in the flesh, but this really makes no difference and people now come from all over the world to receive Meher Baba’s silent darshan from the tomb.The walk from the centre is a short one. You cross a Tarmac road, which even 20 years ago was apparently so quiet that local villagers would hold bullock-cart races on it, but is now a busy thoroughfare for the ever-present trucks, as well as motorised rickshaws carrying people to and from Ahmadnagar. The path then rises and you come to the railway line used by the British when Meherabad was army property during the First World War. Some iron girders form a rough barrier for a couple of metres, but apart from that it is open to the land about. You can hear the roar of the diesel train long before it arrives and the sight of it chuntering through the empty land at dusk sends you right back in time to when these metal giants first blazed through India.The path then begins to climb the slope of a gentle hill, shaded on either side by lines of trees. When the tomb was built it stood in marked contrast to the arid, stony plains around it, for it is a most singular building. It is a small, squat structure with a white domed roof, on each corner of which has been placed a symbol of one of the major world religions Above the wooden doors is written “Mastery in servitude”.

Inside, the walls are painted with beautiful, brightly coloured murals depicting the peoples of the world and heaven above.On a plaque near the tomb is written one of Meher Baba’s sayings: “Things that are real are given and received in silence.” He embodied this attitude for much of his life. Although capable of speech, he remained silent from the age of 31, communicating only by means of an alphabet board and later by sign language. In old films of Baba you can see how just a few simple gestures can convey a multitude of meanings and reach directly to the heart of the matter.The centre also runs trips out to Meherazad, Meher Baba’s home in later life and where the surviving mandali live. They were Baba’s close companions, and you can meet them and listen to their stories.At the back of the cluster of low bungalows that make up the community is a track leading to the fields outside. Here you find yourself immersed in rural India, silent and still.If you carry on walking for about 10 minutes, you eventually come to a small grassy hill. The sides of the hill are steep, and the rocky path winds several times around it before ending at a long, narrow summit. This is Seclusion Hill, where Meher Baba worked for long periods in isolation, often fasting and sometimes barely drinking.

The top is unadorned, save for the numerous rocks strewn across it. From here, the views stretch for miles and miles, taking in pastures and lakes until the plains meet a circling line of hills in the far distance. Here you feel you’re on top of the world.The Meher Baba Pilgrim Centre is open from 15 June to 15 March, and reservations can be made six weeks in advance by calling the Pilgrim Reservation Office in Ahmadnagar on 00 91 241 341 821.. Points EastThe Irish Landmark TrustDrink a pint of Guinness
Mount JulietWexford slobsThe National MuseumElephant & castleKilgraney HouseTemple Bar marketSmithfield marketPhoenix parkDublin bayRacing at the CurraghAltamont GardensThe Roundwood InnThe Guinness StorehouseKilkennyThe Winding StairKilfane Glen and waterfallBirr Castle demesneA Store is BornPoints NorthDonegal on horsebackThe Giant’s causewaySt Columb’s house and the Glebe gallerySt George’s churchMount Stewart house and gardensDerryHilton parkPoints SouthThe Gap of DunloeRyan’s Daughter beachThe Skellig islandsThe Rock of CashelThe English Market Mizen Head LighthouseThe Gourmet store and seafood barBantry houseBodega barBallymaloe House hotelHare IslandPoints West The Cliffs of MoherThe burren Moran’sClare IslandWB YeatsCloghan CastleCroagh PatrickManistir House hostelIrish Seed SaversThe River ShannonBallynahinch castleDruid theatre. When the Halifax launched its higher interest rate on current accounts last year, it looked as if a revolution in banking was on its way. No more paltry interest payments, usually just 0.1 per cent with the Big Four banks Nine months on, things are beginning to look different.