What was the significance of the photograph of Sai Baba that was present in Mirikar's house?

The photograph of Sai Baba found in Mirikar's drawing room held special significance. According to Chapter 51, this was the very same portrait that Megha, a devoted disciple, used to worship with great love, regarding it as a form of Lord Shankar. The glass on its frame had broken, so it had been sent from Shirdi with Balasaheb Mirikar to be repaired in Ahmednagar. After the repair, the portrait was kept at Mirikar's house, covered with a cloth. The text poetically suggests that the repaired photograph was 'as if waiting for Dixit,' its presence coinciding perfectly with the visit of this new, eager devotee who was about to embark on his first journey to meet Baba.