Despite the villagers' growing faith in him, why did few people have a close relationship with Sai Baba in the early days?

Even after the entire village came to have faith in Sai Baba following the lamp miracle, very few people maintained a close, personal relationship with him initially. The reason for this distance, as mentioned in Chapter 0, was Baba's "sharp nature." This aspect of his personality made people hesitant, and no one dared to be overly familiar or casual with him. Consequently, visits to the Masjid where he stayed were infrequent. The text notes that at this particular time, it was Madhavrao Balwant Deshpande who began to visit him more frequently than others, marking the beginning of closer devotee relationships.