Bashir Kamruddin Momin (1 March 1947 – 12 November 2021), popularly known by his pen name, Momin Kavathekar, also known as 'Lokshahir B. K. Momin Kavathekar', was a popular Marathi language poet, writer who promoted sanitation, literacy, and social reforms through his literatures. His work involved creating mass awareness against the dowry, female foeticide, alcohol addiction, blind following of superstitions. Many of his devotional songs (bhaktigit / aarati) adore the Hindu God & Goddess. He was closely associated with Maharashtra's traditional form of theatre Tamasha for almost 50 years, supporting the various Tamasha troupes by providing them with folk songs like 'Lavani', 'Gan Gavalan', 'Bhedic' and short plays called 'Vaga-Natya'. For his contribution to the field of folk art, literature and culture, he was awarded the 'Vithabai Narayangavkar Jeevan Gaurav Puraskar' by Government of Maharashtra in 2018.
Biography
Early life
Momin Kavathekar (बशीर कमरुद्दीन मोमीन / लोकशाहीर मोमीन कवठेकर) was born on 1-March-1948 at Kavathe, a small village in drought prone western Maharashtra; to a Muslim weaver family. Addition of Kavathekar to the surname and adopting it as part of pen name indicates the proud association of family with the village where the ancestors has lived for centuries. Due to patronage by Maratha Empire since late 18th century, the village had been thriving in the crafts and performing arts; and became home to many artist associated with ‘Jagaran Gondhal’, ‘Bharud’, ‘Tamasha’ [all local folk arts]. As a kid, Momin Kavathekar has grown up watching these artist perform at village functions, during their rehearsals prior to the stage- shows and hence, his interest grew gradually.
Education
Momin Kawathekar completed his education from a Marathi Medium school. Due to non-availability of the higher secondary school in the village, all the students from the Kavathe had to walk to a village ‘Loni-Dhamani’ located 10 km away. Due to health issues, he gave up the school after completing the 8th standard and started helping his family in the business.
Professional life
Momin Kavthekar wrote his first song at the age of 11 years. This song was presented in his school function and received appreciation from the audience. This encouraged him to continue & explore his writing skills. At young age, he joined the Tamasha troupe of ‘Gangaram Kavathekar’ where he got exposure to the expectations of the rural audience, their preferences for entertainment and the difficulties faced by artist/troupes/operators. He acted in short plays (Vag Natya) and drama. During free time, he used to pen down couplets/ short folk songs/ Lavani etc. which were sung on the Tamasha shows. However, his folk songs & short plays received appreciation from audience and his work become popular amongst the rural areas. Popularity of his songs earned him fame and various Tamasha troupes/operators started flocking down to Kavathe (his native place) to obtain new songs/ Vag Natya. He got associated with the other Tamasha troupes such as ‘Kalu-Balu Kavalapurkar’, ‘Raghuveer Khedkar & Kantabai Satarkar’, ‘Aman Tambe’, ‘Lakshman Takalikar’ and ‘Datta Mahadik Punekar’. However, he never charged any royalty/ fees from these Tamasha operators for the songs/lyrics or Vag Natya he used to provide them. Short plays written with intention to spread mass awareness against AIDS or fighting against the prevailing social evils like dowry, illiteracy etc. earned the affection of masses. With the advent of Television/ Radio/VCR/ Cable, the Tamasha as ventures started to face difficulty due to dwindling earnings. During this phase, he worked on digitalization options and came up with couple of Musical Audio Albums (CDs). He also guided many troupes/owners to adapt the new technological changes for marketing purpose. He has also written songs for the Marathi Movie 'VIP Gadhav' which features noted comedian Bhau Kadam aka Bhalchandra Kadam as lead actor & upcoming movie 'Bhaucha Dhakka'
Death
Momin Kawthekar died on 12 November 2021 in Pune after a long illustrious career spanning five decades.