Who were Nanasaheb Panshe and Appasahib Gadre, and what role did they play in Kakasaheb Dixit's journey?

Nanasaheb Panshe and Appasahib Gadre were two individuals who played a crucial, initiating role in connecting Kakasaheb Dixit with his travel companion to Shirdi. As narrated in chapter 51, they were passing by, seemingly on the pretext of visiting an exhibition, when they suddenly saw Madhavrao Balwant Deshpande. Recognizing him as the "priest of Shirdi," they felt he was the perfect person to accompany Dixit. They called out to Madhavrao, told him that their friend Dixit was at Mirikar’s house and was very eager to go to Shirdi, and urged him to go meet him. This single action set in motion the entire sequence of events that led to Dixit and Madhavrao traveling together.