What was the story behind the portrait of Sai Baba that Dixit received before his trip to Shirdi?

The portrait of Sai Baba played a significant role in Dixit's journey. Chapter 51 explains that this specific photograph had been sent from Shirdi to Nagar for repairs because its glass had broken. It was being kept, covered, in Mirikar's drawing room. While Dixit was there, waiting to go to Shirdi, Balasaheb Mirikar unveiled the repaired portrait and entrusted it to Madhavrao to accompany them. For Dixit, the sudden appearance of the very image of the one he longed to see felt like a miraculous sign and a strange coincidence, as if Baba himself had come to meet him on the way.