Sunday, April 01, 2012

Met Irrfan Pathan (IP) in Kolkata Airport!

We love meeting celebrities, don’t we? I happened to meet one today. I just landed about a couple of minutes back in Kolkata Airport – come here for a two day customer visit. I got off boarded from the plane and walked towards the conveyor to collect my luggage. Standing across on the other side of the conveyer was a man i thought i had seen before. I was sure he was an important guy as there was one of the ground staff at Kolkata airport, lurking around him - probably about to request for a pic with him. Other passengers around didn’t pay credence initially, but then realized it was a celebrity. I am bad in identifying celebrities in person – but this time i was bang on! It was Irrfan Pathan (IP) – the all rounder in the Indian team who has now slowly made sort of come back into the team. Irfan had a handsfree snaking around his neck and the other hand was twiddling with an electronic gadget – maybe his cell phone. I was initially hesitant to walk over and meet him as i just didn’t want to appear as JADCF (Just Another Desperate Celebrity Fan). He was gracious in signing autographs for hordes of people as he waited for his luggage.
The cricket fan in me however overcame my initial hesitation to meet him as a JADCF. I walked across to the other side of the conveyer, paying gay abandon to any luggage that was snaking across the tiny strip. A tap on the shoulders, shook his hands and here’s what transpired:

Me: Hi Irrfan. Nice to meet you.

IP: Thanks. Nice to meet you

Me: Its nice to see you in the team to Australia. Look forward to see you in further trips. Your tally of 160 odd wickets should hopefully touch 500. Fingers crossed.

IP: Thanks for the wishes. Inshallah!

Me: All the best!

Irrfan Pathan - Kolkata airport
After a few minutes, when his luggage was in place, he then headed off to the only place where women cannot enter – mens room! Probably the Kolkata Night Riders practise is commencing starting tomorrow, for the Indian Premier League (IPL)!

I then clicked his pic from the side. For some reason, had i been JADCF, i would have succumbed for a pic together or for his autograph.But nah..maybe some other day/ some other celebrity.

Signing off from my first fresh blog from Kolkata city airport – within 30 minutes of the occurrence of the event covered in this blog! But promise – this is a true story and “Ami Shotti Bolchi!” (meaning "I am saying the truth" in Bengali)