There are fans, there are fanatics, and then there is Ashok Chakraborty. The 45-year-old, who runs a stationery shop in Nabadwip, has not missed a single IPL or India match at the Eden Gardens since 1999. This includes being present for every home game the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have played at Eden since 2008. No wonder the KKR management honoured Ashok with the title of superfan and handed him a “Golden Ticket” at Knights Unplugged in March, which gives him access to all KKR matches (home and away) this season.
Ashok, who travels 120km from his home to watch KKR in action, first visited Eden to watch India take on Pakistan in the Asian Test Championship in February 1999. Ashok fell in love with Sachin Tendulkar during the match, even though the Master Blaster could only manage nine runs in two innings, including a golden duck in the first. India may have lost the game by 46 runs but it gained one of its most passionate fans, who has been a fixture at Eden ever since.
A sneak peek into how KKR’s superfan prepares to support them
On match days at Eden, Ashok can be easily recognised by his painted body, a conch, a large India or KKR flag (depending on the match) and a unique crown he makes for himself through hours of toil and sweat. Whenever KKR play in the evening on their home turf, with the match scheduled to start at 7.30pm, Ashok leaves his house in Nabadwip at 10am. After catching a two-and-a-half hour-long train to Howrah station, Ashok hops onto a ferry to cross the Hooghly and reach Eden by 3pm. This gives him more than four hours to get ready for the game, more than twice the amount of time KKR players take to warm up!
Ashok begins his pre-match preparations by bringing out his box of paints and asking two youngsters (who are experts at face and body painting) to help him out. Ashok’s demand is for a simple purple t-shirt with white highlights. Once his upper body is painted purple and has had sufficient time to dry, Ashok instructs the painters to write his matchday message, taking great care to ensure that nothing is misspelt. For this season, Ashok’s message, in keeping with KKR’s theme, is: “Rukenge Nahi, Jhukenge Nahi (We won’t stop, we won’t bow down).” Just above the message, approaching the base of his neck, Ashok gets “AMI KKR” painted. On his back is his customary tribute to the late cricket administrator Jagmohan Dalmiya. To complete his look, Ashok puts on his crown, which resembles the helmet of the Knight Riders and could well be a contender for the most glamorous topor ever witnessed in the City of Joy!
But how and why did Ashok begin painting his body before games? “Back in the early 2000s, I really wanted to buy an Indian team jersey and wear it to attend matches at Eden. But I couldn’t afford the jersey at the time. So I thought of painting myself in the design of a t-shirt to express my support for my team. And I haven’t stopped since.”
‘Nobody charges me money when I come to Eden these days’
Ashok is grateful to the CAB for their support and generosity over the years. Amit Pramanik
“During my first time at Eden, Sachin was run out in the second innings of the match. He appeared to be pushed (by Shoaib Akhtar) as he was trying to complete a run. The entire ground erupted to the point where the match had to be paused. I remember Sachin coming out, alongside Jagmohan Dalmiya (then the ICC and CAB president), to calm the fans down. The match resumed and my love for cricket was born,” recollects Ashok. When Ashok found out that KKR was bought by Shah Rukh Khan and would be captained by Sourav Ganguly ahead of the IPL’s debut in 2008, supporting the Knights was a “no-brainer”.
“In my 25 years of loving cricket, I have received so much love every time I’ve come to Eden. Gradually, people started recognising me as the fan from Nabadwip. After a while, vendors stopped charging me at the canteen. In fact, nobody charges me money when I come to Eden these days. I’m grateful to Jagmohan and Abhishek Dalmiya as well as Sourav and Snehasish Ganguly for their generosity and support over the years. The CAB has always showered me with love and respect, and I feel incredible to be able to receive such treatment on every visit to Eden,” narrates Ashok.
Ashok with his body painted in KKR colours and (right) his elaborate KKR headgear Amit Pramanik
In 2020, Ashok was recognised as a superfan by KKR, becoming the first supporter to have his picture on the team bus as well as on advertisement hoardings. “The KKR management has been really kind to me. Being recognised as a superfan is something I’m very proud of. This year, when they called me for the Knights Unplugged event, I had no idea what I was going to do. But when I went up on stage, Shreyas Iyer handed me the Golden Ticket, which was unbelievable! Initially, I didn’t know what the ticket meant, but then someone explained to me that I’ll get access to all of KKR’s games, home and away. KKR also agreed to take care of my travel, fooding and lodging,” gushes Ashok. Prior to this season, Ashok’s commitment as a fan had led the CAB to give him complimentary tickets to every Eden match, be it KKR or India. Now, thanks to KKR, he has the same luxury for KKR’s away matches across the country.
No matter how many seats you put in a stadium, you can’t recreate the passion and atmosphere of Eden anywhere else
‘Eden always appreciates good cricket,’ believes Ashok TT archives
Now that Ashok has watched KKR in action in Bengaluru, Delhi and Chennai in 2024 besides going to Ahmedabad to watch the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup final last November, where does he think Eden ranks among stadiums in India? “Eden remains number one for me. No matter how many seats you put in a stadium, you can’t recreate the passion and atmosphere of Eden anywhere else. During the World Cup final, the Narendra Modi Stadium was dead for large parts of the game. When Travis Head scored a century, the crowd barely reacted. Very few stood up to applaud. Compare this to India versus Pakistan (in January 2013) at Eden, when Nasir Jamshed got a 100 and nobody was sitting. So what if a Pakistani player had reached three figures? Eden always appreciates good cricket,” believes Ashok.
Having completed his own century of matches at Eden long back, which game or experience does Ashok rate as his finest at the Mecca of cricket? “It has to be that famous 2001 Test, when India beat Australia after following on. V.V.S. Laxman and Rahul Dravid scripted the best comeback I’ve witnessed on a cricket field,” says Ashok, who is delighted to see Gautam Gambhir back in the Knights dugout this season: “When Gambhir took over as captain in 2011, he made a team of stars into a family. Now that he’s back, I’m confident that 2024 can be KKR’s year again.”
Apart from his pilgrimages to Eden, Ashok is also a huge fan of trekking. “I’m a part of a trekking club in Nabadwip and we frequently travel long distances, including to the Himalayas,” says Ashok, for whom the trek back home after every game at Eden is challenging in its own right. Leaving the stadium only after both teams have vacated it (no matter how late it gets), Ashok sets out for Howrah station (with his body paint still very much intact) often well past midnight. After boarding the train, he is usually back home by 7am the next morning.
“I’ve never watched matches hoping I’ll get something out of it. I’ve watched it out of love. Once I get home, I go straight back to work, without feeling tired,” says Ashok. To Ashok, his commitment to cricket is nothing remarkable. It is something that comes to him naturally. It is, after all, a part of being a KKR superfan.
