Who was Balabuva Satarkar and what brought him to Shirdi?

Balabuva Satarkar was a respected Haridas from Satara, famously known as the 'Modern Tukaram' for his devotional Bhajans. As Chapter 6 explains, a strong desire for Sai Baba's Darshan had grown in his heart. The opportunity for his visit arose when the annual Ram Navami Kirtan he was scheduled to perform at Siddha-Kavthe was canceled due to a plague outbreak in the village. This cancellation of his regular service freed him to pursue his wish to travel to Shirdi, meet Baba, and perform Kirtan there, an opportunity he discussed with the devotee Dixit.