Dadasaheb Khaparade

Ganesh Shrikrishna Khaparde was a leading lawyer of Amravati, a scholar of Sanskrit and a well-known political leader of his time. He came to Shirdi in 1910 and stayed for a week, and returned with his family in December 1911 for about four months. During his stays he kept a daily diary. His "Shirdi Diary" is one of the most valuable records of Baba's daily life: the morning walks, the Chavadi processions, the aratis and the stories Baba told.

Baba showed great love to Mrs. Khaparde. Every day she brought him a plate of food she had cooked herself, and Baba would eat it with joy even when many richer dishes lay before him. Baba told Khaparde that in a former life they had been close, and that Mrs. Khaparde had served him then too.

The Satcharitra tells how, while the family was in Shirdi, Khaparde's young son caught plague and developed a high fever. His frightened mother wanted to take him home. Baba lifted his own kafni and showed swellings on his own body, saying he had taken the child's suffering on himself. The boy recovered. Khaparde remained Baba's devotee until his death in 1938.