Bakibab Borkar
| Balakrishna Bhagawant Borkar | |
|---|---|
| Born | Borim 30 November 1910 |
| Died | 8 July 1984 |
| Occupation | Freedom fighter, poet, author, linguistic activist |
| Language | Marathi, Konkani |
| Ethnicity | Konkani |
| Citizenship | Indian |
| Notable awards | Padma Shri |
Balakrishna Bhagwant Borkar (Konkani:बाळकृष्ण भगवन्त शेणय बोरकार, popularly known as बाकीबाब, Marathi: बाळकृष्ण भगवन्त बोरकर) (30 November 1910 – 08 July 1984) was a poet from Goa, India.
Bā Bha Borkar, also known as Ba-ki-baab, started writing poems at an early age. Vi Sa Khandekar was an early champion of Borkar's verse. Borkar joined Goa's fight for freedom in the 1950s and moved to Pune, where he worked for the radio. Most of his literature is written in Marathi, though his Konkani output is also considerable. He excelled as a prose writer as well.
His long poems Mahatmayan, an unfinished poem dedicated to Gandhi), and TamaHstotra (upon the possibility of blindness due to diabetes and old age) are famous.
One of his famous poems is "Mazha Gaav", meaning "My village".
After Borkar's death, Pu La Deshpande and his wife Sunitabai performed public readings of Borkar's poetry.
Balkrishna Bhagwant Borkar was born on 30 November 1910 in the bucolic village of Borim, Goa situated on the banks of the Zuari river. The atmosphere in his house was very pious and there used to be recitals of bhajans, kirtans, holy scripts and songs of saints of Maharashtra. As a household rule every child was supposed to learn new Abhangs by heart.
It is said that Bakibaab once forgot to learn a new Abhang and when it was his turn to recite, he composed an Abhnag on the fly. People who were listening were astonished and could not believe that young Baki could have done this and he was asked to compose one more Abhang. He surprised them again by composing one more Abhang and ended it with the verse "Baki Mhane" (so says Baki).
Bakibaab's mother tongue was Konkani and he did his schooling till the second grade in Marathi medium. Goa at that time was under the colonial rule of the Portuguese and Baki had to complete his further education in Portuguese language. He acquired a Portuguese Teachers Diploma. He could not continue his formal education beyond that point because of lack of funds and had to find himself a job. He worked as teacher in various schools in Goa from 1930 to 1945. Later he left for Bombay (Mumbai) where he edited Konkani periodicals Amacha Gomatak and Porjecho Awaj. In November 1955 he joined Aakashwani (All India Radio) and worked there until his retirement in 1970.
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