After four days of rain, the villagers returned to Baba, this time with the prayer to stop the rain. They were afraid of the river flooding to the point of submerging their village. Baba assured them that it would not happen. The flooding was becoming a serious concern, not only in Toka but throughout Ahmednagar District. The amount of rainfall was unprecedented. Houses were collapsing and several people had been killed. The roads were closed and traffic had come to a standstill. The Pravara River was completely flooded, nearly overflowing into Toka Village.
Late in the night of 20 September, Baba asked Waman Subnis and Pleader to offer prayers to stop the rain. At 2:00 A.M., with a few persons, Baba walked to the banks of the Pravara River. There he sat down and dipped his feet in the water. Soon after, the rains diminished and the flood waters gradually receded. The village of Toka was saved and its residents were greatly relieved.
The temporary structures at Toka were made of tatta (bamboo matting) but a permanent brick building, seven feet square, named Meher Manzil was erected for Baba. Quarters for the Prem Ashram boys were built inside the Meher Manzil compound, consisting of 32 rooms, each seven feet by four feet.
On Friday, 21 September 1928, Meher Manzil was officially opened. Baba was given a bath by some of the boys after not having bathed for the previous eighteen days (a record as far as the mandali could recall). Despite this, there was no unpleasant odor from his body. Baba had been wearing the same sadra during this period, which had become quite dirty, and that too he changed. Baba's Table Cabin was brought to the Meher Manzil the next day, and the new residence was inaugurated with bhajans and sweets. Baba was garlanded and photographed, and speeches were delivered by Dara and a few others.
The Prem Ashram boys were shifted to Meher Manzil two days later, and Baba allotted separate rooms to each of the 32 boys.
He remarked, but did not explain: "My plan here is to forge links."
What Baba meant by forging links may have had to do with his Universal work, for which he required separate "links," and the boys of the Prem Ashram were perhaps to be those links.
Although for the most part Chhota Baba was kept aloof near the Master, occasionally he would mix with the other boys.