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ShareMumbai: Where can you meet the legendary cricketer Sir Donald Bradman, religious leader The Dalai Lama, sitar player Pandit Ravi Shankar, actor Jackie Chan, tabla maestro Allah Rakha and singer Lata Mangeshkar all under one roof? Where else but at 53-year-old teacher and graphologist Satish Chaphekar's Thane residence. You can meet all these legends and many more.
With a collection of over 5,500 autographs signed by the legends from across the world, Chaphekar has a veritable treasure trove, each telling a tale.
His tryst with the hobby of collecting signatures of famous people began when he was still in school. "My school used to organise plays and I saw veteran theatre actors like Dr Shreeram Lagoo, Nilu Phule and others. However, when I shared these with my friends, they wouldnot believe me and thought that I was lying. I began taking autographs as a proof of having met these stars," recalls Chaphekar.
"To get an autograph I frequented theatres, cultural shows, seminars and lectures and learnt about things which I missed out learning in school," he adds. Being an average student academically, it was these visits which taught him a lot.
For many like Chaphekar, the journey and the fun of autograph collection is something unparalleled.
In the course of his journey, Chaphekar has met many icons like The Dalai Lama, ghazal singer Ghulam Ali, Pandit Ravi Shankar, Allah Rakha, actor Naseeruddin Shah, singer Bhupen Hazarika and many more. Since the early 90's he started taking interest in cricketers.
"I remember how every year I used to send a letter to Sir Donald Bradman on his birthday asking for an autograph but to no avail. Then once I sent a letter to cricketer Sunil Gavaskar mentioning the incident. Gavaskar replied that I should take it slow and not bombard Bradman with letters. With that letter there was another envelope with Bradman's autograph in it," he recalls with a smile.
He has 125 cricket bats signed by cricketer Sachin Tendulkar. "I wanted to make an autograph century. Also, I took 38 autographs from cricketer Rahul Dravid on four bats as he has made 38 centuries," he further adds.
Ask about his favourite and toughest encounters and he mentions astronaut Neil Armstrong and actors Jackie Chan and Richard Gere among them. To get an autograph of Gere, he had to follow him in a taxi. "While sitting inside the taxi, I wrote on a chit of paper requesting him to send an autograph with my address on it and gave the envelope at the hotel reception. Within eight days I got his autograph," he says gleefully.
According to Chaphekar, autograph hunting is no mean task. "Earlier, I had to sneak in, cross security hurdles to reach the stars. Nowadays, many security personnel know me and realise that I don't mean any harm but just want an autograph," he states.
If you want to see the signatures of stalwarts and legends like football player Pele, India's first prime minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, actor Prithviraj Kapoor, industrialist JRD Tata, humanitarian Mother Teresa and freedom fighter Veer Savarkar, 67-year-old Vijay Deshpande's home, abounds in autographs signed by legends from each of them. His collection of 2,100 autographs boasts of names which are beyond anyone's reach now.
"I am selective when it comes to taking autographs and I go by the rule to select a name that doesn't need any introduction," says Deshpande.
Talking about his encounter with Pele, Deshpande says, "It was in 1976 when Pele was flying through Mumbai and I got a chance to meet him at the airport. I got his picture postcard signed by him. Also, he gave me his visiting card which was shaped like a football with springs in it and had his signature printed on it."
Another memorable encounter he remembers is with Veer Savarkar on a Sankranti Day many moons back. "I got his blessings, offered him prasad and got his autograph which got lost once while traveling but was later found on the footpath with the sign intact," he states.
He still regrets not being able to get West Indies cricketer Sir Frank Worrell's autograph. "He was in the city giving a lecture but by the time I reached the auditorium, he had left for the airport to visit Kolkata. I reached the airport only to hear that his flight had taken off and the next thing I heard was that he had passed away," rues Deshpande.
Following the footsteps of both Chaphekar and Deshpande is yet another autograph collector, 26-year-old Kaustabh Sathe, who boasts of a collection of more than 1,400 autographs.
He started his hobby almost 10 years back and now has more than 500 autographs of cricketers and 300 of Indian classical maestros and with many stories associated with each signature, Sathe plans to jot down all as a memoir one day.
For instance, "In the 2006 Champions Trophy, the Australian cricket team had come to Mumbai and there was a terrorist attack threat on them. When I was taking their pictures, they complained to the police and I was taken to the police station. I had to convince the police that I just wanted their autograph," he recalls. Sathe feels that with the increasing security surrounding the celebrities and icons, getting an autograph has become trifle difficult and needs true dedication and passion to continue.
For these passionate few, it's these frozen moments in time which they want to preserve for posterity.
