Bashir Momin Kavathekar

Lokshahir Bashir Momin Kavathekar (born March 1947), commonly known as B.K.Momin or Momin Kawathekar is a Marathi poet and writer from Maharashtra's Pune area. He was a writer who used his works to promote sanitation, literacy, and social transformation. His works included raising public awareness about ill effects of dowry, female foeticide, alcoholism and blind faith in superstitions. Many of his devotional songs are dedicated to the Hindu Gods and Goddesses. For almost 50 years, he was closely linked with Maharashtra's ancient style of theatre Tamasha, contributing folk songs like 'Lavani,' 'Gan Gavalan,' 'Bhedic,' and short dramas called 'Vaga-Natya' to the various Tamasha troupes.

He's also appeared in a number of dramas and short plays. He had been mentoring a new generation of artists and performers for the past two decades. His skillful usage of folklore narrative techniques served to popularize and make his work vivid and accessible to the general public and communities. In 2018, the Maharashtra government honored him with the 'Vithabai Narayangavkar Jeevan Gaurav Puraskar' for his contributions to folk art, literature and culture. He wrote around 4000 folk songs in his lifetime, which are still being performed by local artists over the years. Momin Kavathekar died on November 12, 2021, in Pune, following a five-decade-long and brilliant career.