Residence of Shri B.D. Meattle

 These are the photographs of the banglow named Temple Tree, the erstwhile residence of the multi millionaire  business man Shri B.D. Meattle from Bombay.  Whenever Shri Nathji would walk on Camel’s Back Road he would pass by a large estate below the road which belonged to a millionaire seth of Bombay, a certain Shri B.D. Meattle. The man was so rich that he had called an architect from Italy to design and decorate his large estate. The huge bungalow on the lawn was reputed to have a cinema theatre inside for the entertainment of guests. He had used expensive Aluminium sheets for the roof of his house instead of the usual tin sheets used by the people of Mussoorie. It was another matter that when the rains came, the hailstones made holes in the Aluminium sheets! The tin sheets of the homes in Mussoorie had withstood the rain, hail and snow, better. Despite being in possession of untold wealth, he was greatly depressed in life and infact was praying for death. He came to Shri Nathji at Savitri Niwas and said “I have heard that all who come to you get whatever they ask for. I, too, wish to ask you for something.”

“If I can grant it I shall be only to happy to do it,” said Shri Nathji.

 Meattle said: “Main maut maangne aayaa hoon! “I have come to ask you for death. I have been wishing for death for the past two years!”

Shri Nathji said: “Sethji, you have come to the wrong place, I do not have death. I have life. You can take it!

“Meattleji aap galat jagah par aa gaye hain. Mere paas maut naheen hai. Yahaan to zindagi hai. Le jaayiye!”

Shri Nathji added:

“You have been waiting for death for two years for your own sake, now you can wait for two days more for my sake!

“Aap do saal tak apne liye jeete rahe. Ab do din mere liye bhee jee len!”

Meattle went away.

The next day he telephoned Shri Nathji and

said:

“Maharaj! Main jeenaa chaahataa hoon!

I want to live! Since the time I visited you a miraculous peace has filled my heart!”

Shri B.D.Meattle became greatly devoted to Shri Nathji. He would come for Shri Nathji's darshan again and again and derive infinite solace from these meetings, which filled him with strength to face life. The mere sight of Shri Nathji filled him with a peace and happiness, which all the wealth in the world could not have given him.

It seems that this estate now called the Temple Tree, comprised of two estates. One was the grand residence of Shri B.D. Meattle and the other was the estate called  The Hermitage. This estate earlier known as The Hermitage,  was sold by Col Andrew Kirkwood to Birla Cotton and Spinning Mills in 1944. A smaller cottage, also in the campus of The Hermitage, is where Mahatma Gandhi stayed during his visit to Mussoorie in 1946. Later it seems the Birlas Purchased the property of Shri B.D. Meattle, which was adjacent to The Hermitage, which they had purchased earlier and the combined property was called the Birla House.

When the 23-year-old Dalai Lama fled Tibet in March 1959 and reached Mussoorie, he along with his mother, Tendzin Choegyal, and a few other family members stayed at the breathtakingly beautiful Birla House, requisitioned for his use by the Indian Government. The place is a 10-minute walk from Tibetan Homes Foundation (THF) and is looked after by a team of caretakers deputed by the Birlas. In his autobiography, Freedom in Exile, the Dalai Lama describes his residence at Mussoorie. The photograph bellow is of May 1959, when the Dalai Lama celebrates the birthday of the Lord Buddha for the first time since his arrival in India in exile, in his residence of Birla House in Mussoorie. 

It is here that he held various meetings with the Indian Prime minister, Jawahar Lal Nehru. On June 20, 1959, the Dalai Lama broke held a press conference here that was attended by 130 reporters from several countries.  He had also begun to give weekly audience in the grounds of Birla House. On April 29, 1960, the Dalai Lama left Mussoorie for Dharamsala with 80 officials of the government-in-exile.

Later the Birla House was renamed as Temple Tree. It is still maintained in its original glory. It’s campus has oak, pine and deodar trees. Every year in May, KK Birla and his wife used to arrive here hoping to spend a few months in solitude. Now also members of the Birla Family frequent use this place as there summer retreat.