At noon there would be an hour's respite for a lunch of rice and dal. In the evening, dinner consisted of a potato dish with bread. For long intervals during this period, Baba would fast only on liquids, taking no solid food.
After the repairs were finished, the structure was whitewashed using handmade brushes. Being unaccustomed to painting with the harsh lime solution, the men developed severely blistered hands and, despite applying oil and fomenting them, the pain lasted for several days.
By the afternoon of 22 May the Mess Quarters was finally ready for occupancy. The mandali were exhausted and thought Baba might defer their move until the following day. But Baba wanted them to shift at once.
The Post Office was emptied of their belongings. Baba and the mandali, each (including Baba) carrying his own bedding and baggage, moved into the Mess Quarters. Baba selected a particular spot for each man to spread out his bedding. On the right side, a small room was reserved for Baba. Upasni Maharaj's photograph was hung there with a stick of burning incense placed before it. By evening, everything was unpacked and arranged: the cooking pots and utensils were kept in the kitchen, the water chatties filled, their personal effects placed in their corner, their beddings laid out on the floor.
At night, Baba was seated on his mattress on the floor, leaning against the wall as two of the mandali sat on either side of him massaging his legs and feet. As they were preparing for bed, Gustadji felt something soft under his pillow. He lifted it and found a snake curled up under it. Padri killed it immediately. They wondered from where it had come since no snakes were seen while repairing the building, and Gustadji had spread his bedding after thoroughly sweeping the area. They had killed some scorpions, but had not seen any snakes.
Baba decided, "In order to be on the safe side, we should move back to the Post Office right away!"
So all again shouldered their belongings and bedding rolls and, in the dark, trudged back to their original shelter.
While they were making themselves comfortable, Baba said, "Arangaon is not such a nice place. It is not good to remain here now. Think of some other place which is free of snakes and scorpions."
Several places were mentioned, but none was approved by Baba. Pendu then suggested traveling to Quetta, where he had been living prior to Manzil-e-Meem. Baba liked this prospect since he had promised Pilamai to visit Karachi.
Baba later concluded, "Not only should we leave Arangaon, but we should also leave Ahmednagar District, Bombay Province and India altogether, and go to Persia [Iran] via Quetta and Karachi."
Baba had previously thought of farming the land at Arangaon. Preparations had been underway for some days; bullocks had been ordered and a pump was to be installed at the well. Rustom had already sent the pump, but the very next day it was returned to him, and the order for the bullocks was canceled.