Shri Nathji had stayed at Hathras for about six days and at Agra for just one day. The entire trip outside Delhi was over in just one week. Mateshwari took photographs of this small excursion and later meticulously pasted the pictures of the time in a little album.
By the start of the second week of April 1947 Shri Nathji was back in Delhi.
After staying with the Bhutts for a while, he decided to go to Mussoorie as the children’s school had opened in March and they had already missed many of their classes.
Shri Nathji was very concerned that the boys not miss school. It was for that reason that he had come from Lahore to Delhi.
At Delhi, Bhutt and his wife, Gangabai, pleaded with Shri Nathji once again to give up the solitude of the hills and live with them, especially now that there were disturbances everywhere and Mussoorie was a lonely place.
However, Shri Nathji and Mateshwari had no alternative but to return to a place where they had spent so many years in the past and where their children were receiving education and where Shri Nathji’s health remained at its peak.
Mateshwari, too, was very concerned that the boys’ education not be interrupted for any reason whatsoever. She wanted both the boys to become absolutely independent in life and to not to have to rely on the devotees of Shri Nathji in any way. She had seen how the devotees frequently were found wanting when it came to making any sacrifices for Shri Nathji’ sake; she had also seen how difficult it was to be financially dependent upon the little sewa that they did.
And thus it was that Shri Nathji, Mateshwari and the children, prepared to leave for Mussoorie in a car arranged by Bhutt, which belonged to his friend.
Bhutt was so concerned about Shri Nathji’s journey to Mussoorie in the vitiated atmosphere that prevailed on the roads during the year 1947, that he sought permission from Shri Nathji to escort him all the way to Mussoorie. And it was thus that Bhutt went along with Shri Nathji and his family in the car. Sahadeva Tayal, who had come from Lahore, also went with them.
As Shri Nathji left Delhi for Mussoorie, the few people who had come to see Shri Nathji off, found themselves wrenched in their very hearts and souls. It was impossible for anyone to bear separation from Shri Nathji, because he was the very soul of their souls. All had tears in their eyes as they saw the car carrying Shri Nathji drive away.
There was the familiar Jamna Bridge, which had to be crossed to get out of Delhi. Shri Nathji suggested to the boys that they throw some coins into the river Jamna as an offering, even as the car crossed the massive iron bridge. This was to become a routine with Shri Nathji. Every time they crossed the river Jamna over the bridge, Shri Nathji would shut his eyes and bless the river, even as the boys threw coins into its waters from the open window of the car.
The car found its way to the Grand Trunk Road, which went all the way from Delhi to Mussoorie, passing through various cities along the way.
Shri Nathji passed through Meerut, and then Muzzafarnagar, and reached the outskirts of Roorkee.
The Grand Trunk Road was to be blessed by Shri Nathji many times, and had become a very special road. Shri Nathji would always refer to it with some pride as one of the great achievements of the country.
Whenever travelling back and forth between Mussoorie and Delhi by car Shri Nathji would anxiously ask: “Have we reached the Grand Trunk Road yet?”
In the car, Shri Nathji and Mateshwari sat in the back seat of the car along with Pran Nath, while Bhutt Sahib and Sahadeva sat in the front seat, with Priya Nath in the lap of Shri Bhutt.
Somewhere near Roorkee, a car appeared on the road, coming from the opposite direction. The driver was drunk. Both the cars were travelling at a considerable speed. It was a head-long collision. An ear-shattering sound went up in the air. One of the cars appeared to have caught fire.
No one was injured, not even the drunk driver of the other car. Shri Nathji, along with Mahamateshwari and Pran Nath and Priya Nath, Shri Bhutt Saheb and Sahdev Tayal, got out of the car.
The car had come within inches of a large canal. It was only Shri Nathji’s protecting shield that had saved everyone from physical harm – including the drunk driver of the other car! A head-long collision at high speed usually left few survivors.
It was dark. The sound had attracted a group of Muslims who were armed with lathis, knives and guns. They came towards the car.
Shri Nathji fearlessly went out to them and explained the situation. Those were fierce times. Muslims and Hindus were slaughtering each other everywhere. Shri Nathji’s presence had so peaceful an effect on the armed group that they gave up all hostile intentions, and, instead, procured a Tonga for Shri Nathji and those accompanying him. Shri Nathji along with his family and the two devotees arrived in the city of Roorkee in the Tonga, in the dead of night.