What was the setting and initial conversation when the narrator was brought before Sai Baba by Madhavrao in Chapter 19?

The scene described in Chapter 19 is one of evening Aarti in the Dwarkamai. While the devotee Jog was waving the Pancharti and ringing a bell, Sai Baba was smoking his chillum. Madhavrao, also known as Shama, had the narrator sit directly facing Baba. In a melodious voice, Baba asked what Dakshina Shama had brought. Shama replied that instead of money, he offered a bow (Namaskar) and that there were fifteen rupees to be offered. Baba then pressed them, asking about the conversation they just had, wanting to know all the details of what they discussed.