Kolkata-based Journalist and author Jayeeta Ganguly has a special reason to celebrate Imran Khan’s victory in the recently-concluded general elections in Pakistan.
Jayeeta is the author of 'Just Another Fan', which traces her journey as a Imran fan girl began in 1986 when she was 10 years and the 18-year-long wait she endured to meet her idol. Jayeeta also confesses that the real reason she chose journalism as a profession was nothing but her conviction that one day she will get to interview and interact with Imran Khan. Her dream was finally achieved in 2004.
Quoting Games of Thrones, Jayeeta says, “We don’t get to choose who we love.” Her family never had extreme views about either cricket or religion and so had no objection over her declaring that she was in love with the former Pakistan cricket captain.
Back then, there was no Google, and Jayeeta voraciously sourced her information about Imran from magazines such as SportsStar and SportsWorld, and claims to have acted like a ‘colony bully’ whenever the magazines had a special edition dedicated to Imran.
In the early 1990s, a friend in her neighbourhood would come home with video cassettes of Pakistani soap operas like Dhoop Kinare and Tanhaiye. She told DNA that she would visualize Imran as an integral part of these television shows.
She still preserves a suitcase full of paraphernalia including pictures and cuttings about Imran. She even did the namaz and learnt a few Urdu words. She had also temporarily and randomly changed her name to Afroz.
Her first opportunity to see Imran was in 1989 during the Nehru Cup final in Kolkata's Eden Gardens. She recalls how female fans in the stadium went berserk after Imran celebrated the Pakistan victory against the West Indies by going shirtless. He waved at the crowd and the then teenager felt that Imran was waving at her.
Jayeeta was 15 in 1992 when Pakistan, under Imran’s captaincy won the World Cup. That was Imran’s last outing as an international cricketer, but that didn’t end the fan girl in her. This is when she remembers telling her mother in chaste Urdu that 'Hum Imranse milenge jarur par apne balbute.'
It was at this time that she decided to become a journalist, as she felt that it was the only way she could meet her idol.
After completing her education in New Delhi and working in various media organizations in the national capital and Mumbai, she finally took up a job in The Telegraph Kolkata. On November 13, 2004, her dream of finally interacting with him came true when Imran visited the City of Joy. In an interview that lasted 45 minutes, Jayeeta recalls how Imran was surprised that she knew so much about him and his family.
On Thursday, she told DNA that Imran’s challenge to lead Pakistan, however, is a totally new ballgame. It is going to be a different test all together. There are many internal challenges and conflicts that he would first need to ‘bowl out’ first. I would like to see him upholding his ‘sportsmanship spirit’ in everything that he does and whichever country and issues he is dealing with. The world is waiting to see ‘Kaptaan’ start this new innings. There are a lot of expectations from him. I hope he will not disappoint,” admits Jayeeta.
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 "Imran and Jayeeta Ganguly")
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