Who was Balabuva Satarkar and why did he perform the kirtan at Shirdi instead of his usual place?

Balabuva Satarkar was a Haridas famous for his Bhajans, earning him the title 'Modern Tukaram'. As detailed in Chapter 6, he typically performed the Ram Navami Kirtan at Siddha-Kavthe, for which he had an annual grant. However, in the year discussed, the festival at Kavthe was cancelled due to a plague outbreak that emptied the village. This unforeseen cancellation provided him the opportunity to fulfill a personal desire to have Sai Baba's darshan. Kaka Mahajani then arranged for him to come to Shirdi to perform the festival kirtan there, filling the role that Bhishma had occupied the previous year.