Why was the Ram Navami festival at Kavthe cancelled, and what was the immediate sequence of events that led Balabuva to discuss his Shirdi trip with Dixit?

The Ram Navami festival at Siddha-Kavthe was cancelled because a plague, referred to as 'Margi', had struck the villagers, causing the village to become empty. As Chapter 6 recounts, Balabuva received letters informing him of the cancellation. This turn of events, which meant his usual service to Rama was missed and his fee was lost, directly provided him with the opportunity to pursue a long-held desire for Sai Baba's darshan. It was in this context that he met with the devotee Dixit and explained his situation, expressing his hope to have Baba's darshan and perform Kirtan in Shirdi instead.