Pune: When Sayam Bagmar from Gadag in Karnataka met Gulzar, he was overwhelmed. Sitting next to the legendary poet and Bollywood icon was a dream come true. He was there for an autograph for his collection. Sayam’s perseverance paid off. He met Gulzar at his home in Bandra. He had 15 to 16 articles with him, including vinyl records of some of Gulzar’s best movies, books, and a sketched portrait. Gulzar wrote two-line poems where? before signing.“There are boards in his office which say ‘do not request for photos’. I hesitantantly sought a photograph with him, fully expecting to hear a ‘no’. To my surprise, he called his assistant and took some pictures with me without the pomp of a global-winning celebrity,” Sayam said.The 25-year-old, who contributes to his family business in the trading of stationery and printing products, has followed his passion with dedication and has autographs of 800 Indian personalities, 1,500 if all those who gave it to him more than once are counted. He did it not by gate-crashing, but by setting up meetings with people either in person or through correspondence.The first autograph came from celebrated athlete Milkha Singh. “I only knew that he was called the ‘Flying Sikh’. I had written to him in 2018 and he called me. I was not expecting to hear from him as my letter was gushing with admiration for him. When he spoke to me, I had goosebumps. My response to him was childish,” Sayam said.The famous athlete gave Sayam a simple life lesson— work hard. His autograph sent by mail was lost in transit but he re-sent another after a year. It is among Sayam’s prized possessions. The young man, in a cream-coloured T-shirt, blue jeans, and a backpack, stands apart in his single-minded devotion. “I do not drink (alcohol) or smoke, and I do not socialise much. After working for more than 10 to 12 hours a day, I do not have the energy,” he said.Sayam spends two days a week researching his hobby, so each autograph he collects has a story. Sometimes it takes him months and even years to get the autograph— like Ratan Tata‘s.“I know people who know people through my stamp-collecting hobby. I tried all of them to get his autograph but nothing worked. Eventually, I got to know someone working in his office. The lady was kind and put in a word on my behalf. Seeing my sustained efforts, his office got in touch with me, and I received a signed portrait from him a mere one year before he passed away,” he said.It took Sayam five years to get in touch with the office of Ratan Tata. He got what he wanted but was not able to meet Tata as he was too old for in-person meetings.Sayam looks for Padma awardees but instead of taking their signatures in a scrapbook, he takes them on some memorabilia. Famed orthopaedist Kantilal Sancheti’s signature is on a knee model as he is the first Indian to perform knee transplant surgery and was part of the team that operated on former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.His current focus is on Indian chess grandmasters. So far, he has collected 20 signatures. Among them are those of former chess world champion Viswanathan Anand and current world champion D Gukesh. He also got Indian woman grandmaster Koneru Humpy’s at the Women Grand Prix 2025. Humpy won the tournament in Pune.“I had been trying to meet her for more than two years. I managed to get her cover picture from the Asian Games 2023 from China from a friend there,” Sayam said.On his Pune visit, he could get 17 chess players to sign in one go. The organisers had prohibited people from seeking autographs of players but the players made an exception for Sayam.“Many personalities are happy to see someone from another part of the country wanting to take their autographs. One or two lines from legends is a huge learning experience,” he said.While visiting Jaipur for a family wedding, Sayam squeezed time out to meet two-time Paralympic gold medallist in javelin Devendra Jhajharia. He got one from Padma Shri awardee late Swami Shivananda Saraswati during the Kumbh in Uttar Pradesh. Sayam’s cupboard is filled with signed artefacts and needs regular upkeep to prevent damage, but the pleasure lies in his adding to his collection. His only regret is the he does not have Pandit Bhimsen Joshi’s signature, Gadag’s most famous personality.
