Who were Sai Baba's earliest acquaintances and supporters when he first came to Shirdi?

Upon his arrival in Shirdi with a wedding procession, Sai Baba was first welcomed by a gentleman named Mhalasapati. As described in Chapter 0, Mhalasapati, a local goldsmith and devotee of Khandoba, greeted him in the Khandoba temple and is credited with giving him the name 'Sai Baba.' Mhalasapati then brought Baba into the village and introduced him to his companions, Kashiram Shimpi and Appa Jagle. These three men had an established practice of serving saints and fakirs who visited Shirdi, and they extended this hospitality to Sai Baba, becoming his earliest supporters in the village.