Thane resident has passionately collected autographs of 3,000 sports celebs

Satish Chaphekar

For 62-year-old Thane resident Satish Chaphekar, collecting autographs is not just a hobby but a passion that he believes gives his life a purpose. Chaphekar, who is a sports newsreader on All India Radio, has been collecting autographs of personalities, ranging from actor Priyanka Chopra to astronaut Neil Armstrong since he was 11. His first autograph was of General Kodandera M Cariappa, the first Indian commander-in-chief of the Indian Army.

Today, Chaphekar has more than 9,500 autographs (he has lost count, he admits), and three Limca Book Records. The walls of his Dombivli home are filled with autographs of various Marathi actors, writers and artists who have visited his second home/museum.

Sachin Tendulkar

This weekend, he will be displaying 3,000 autographs belonging to sports legends. "I keep an eye on the news to see who is visiting the city. All my autographs have been collected in Mumbai," says Chaphekar, who remembers waiting for three hours for Jackie Chan's autograph. He holds the record of having 100 autographs of cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar as a mark of his 100 centuries, and 48 bats with autographs of Rahul Dravid for 48 centuries he hit. Chapheker tells us that Tendulkar now knows him personally and has trusted him with his autographs as he knows Chaphekar won't sell them. We ask him if to keep up with the times, he takes selfies with every star too, to which he replies, "Selfies are just a proof of meeting; autographs are an asset. But I don't want to sell any of them. Many people have asked me to put them up on eBay, but I will not."

Chaphekar calls himself a one-man army, having met almost every big cricketer - past and present - including Sir Garfield Sobers, Sir Vivian Richards, Sunil Gavaskar, Ajit Wadekar, Ian Botham and Brett Lee. He has even managed to source an autograph of Sir Donald Bradman via post.

Vint Cerf

In addition to cricketers, the exhibition will have the autographs of tennis players too, including Roger Federer and Rod Laver, and chess champ Viswanathan Anand. "After I received Sir Don's autograph, I couldn't sleep that night and wondered what I should aim for next. And the very next day, newspapers announced Dalai Lama's visit to Mumbai," he smiles.

Chaphekar, who is also a graphologist, tells us that he had suggested to Parthiv Patel to change his sign, which the young cricket star did. He also offers free handwriting analysis.

A prized possession is a bat signed by Sena chief Bal Thackeray, which Chaphekar says is the only bat the politico signed in his life.

Other highlights in his collection include autographs of actor Richard Gere, former president APJ Abdul Kalam, artists Ravi Paranjpaye and SH Raza, social reformer Baba Amte, freedom fighter Nath Pai, a cartoon made specifically for him by RK Laxman, and a sketch by artist Vasudeo Kamath on the wall of his Dombivli home.

Rahul Dravid

Ask him who is on his wish list, and he tells us, "I am not a big fan of young actors, and follow a select list. I lost interest after Madhuri Dixit, Aishwarya Rai and Sridevi. But I really want to meet Deepika Padukone [I have an autograph of Prakash Padukone] and Rajinikanth. Patience is the key."

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