Who was Balabuva Satarkar and why did he end up performing the Ram Navami Kirtan in Shirdi?

Balabuva Satarkar was a Haridas from Satara, famously known as the 'Modern Tukaram' for his Bhajans. According to Chapter 6, he had an annual grant to perform the Ram Navami Kirtan at a holy place called Siddha-Kavthe. However, one year, the festival in Kavthe was canceled due to a plague outbreak, and the villagers asked him to come the following year. This cancellation of his service to Rama provided him with the opportunity to go to Shirdi. He desired to have Sai Baba's Darshan and perform the Kirtan there, a wish that was facilitated after he met with Dixit.