With Kaka Baria, it was different. Due to uremia, Kaka had trouble speaking coherently. He would become confused and say the wrong name for things. For instance, he would repeat anda (eggs), and Pendu would hand him a matchbox, knowing that is what he meant. Baba would ask him who the men were and he would call Aloba Kakri (Cucumber). Bhau he called Choowa (Mouse), and Pendu Lassan (Garlic). Within a few moments, when Baba asked him again who they were, he would give entirely different names.
Before sitting in the lift-chair, Baba would ask Kaka the garden boys' names, and each time, Kaka would say something different. Baba would tell Francis to remember these names and when he came to the verandah of the house, Francis would loudly repeat what Kaka had said, so that Mehera and the other women inside could hear and enjoy Kaka's latest christenings. Kaka's incorrect pronunciation and the way in which he said it kept Baba amused, and it became a source of merriment to all the mandali.
One day, perhaps only half-joking, Baba remarked about Kaka's speech, "This was the language people used to speak 1,000 years ago, and Kaka is remembering it!"
In the hall, each of the men mandali had a chosen spot that they would occupy daily when Baba was present. Kaka would be oblivious to all except Bhau, as he derived immense pleasure from giving Bhau a sound slap on the head occasionally, and he found that it amused Baba, too. Bhau was usually called upon to massage Baba's legs, and while doing this, Kaka would sneak up behind him and give him a slap! Then he would solemnly shake hands with Baba.
Once, when Bhau wasn't called to massage Baba's legs, Kaka became so restless that to calm him Baba instructed Bhau, "Come and sit in front of me, as Kaka is not at ease."
Then Kaka would find the opportunity to slap his head.
Strife between Kaka and Baidul had been occurring ever since the days of the Rahuri mad and mast ashrams, from 1936–37 onward. Each man would claim to the other: "Your mast is mad and mine is advanced!" Even into the late 1960s, this friction between them continued. But at this time, their quarreling was more a source of amusement than annoyance to Baba and the other mandali.
Once, when they were bickering back and forth, Baba remarked, "I wish I could hang Baidul and Kaka in cages on either side of me like parrots!"
Sometimes the two old men would almost come to blows, and Eruch and Pendu would separate them.