An Englishman's personalised posters of Indian jets and pilots flew off the shelves at Aero India 2009
An Englishman's personalised posters of Indian jets and pilots flew off the shelves at Aero India 2009
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On cloud nine: Simon Watson with his unique poster collection of Indian pilots and their flying machines |
An Englishman won the hearts of many Indians at Aero India 2009 with his unique poster collection of Indian pilots and their flying machines.
What makes London-based Simon Watson's posters special is that they come with the signatures of the pilots.
His stall at the Bharat Rakshak outlet in hall 'A' this year was the one-stop point for those looking for memorabilia related to the Indian Air Force. And the signed squadron posters were a hit.
"This is the only place where you get original signatures of pilots," said Watson. "People like this and a good number of posters are sold."
'Indian jets special'
Watson has been doing this for the past 10 years at airshows the world over. He's a regular at Aero India too but what's interesting is his love for Indian jets and pilots.u00a0
"Indian jets are very special for me," he said. "They symbolise both beauty and might."u00a0To him, this is more about sentiment than business.
He had more than 15 varieties of signed posters including the Suryakiran, MiG, Sarang and Tejas. Each poster has the original signature of the crew flying the aircraft. While he sells it at Rs 100, it's free for the armed forces.
Getting it done
His colleague, UK-based photographer Tim Brown, helps him with photographs of Indian planes. Watson enlarges them and personally visits crew members and gets their autograph. In return, he gives each of them a poster with signatures of the crew.
"Every pilot signs and takes a poster in return. It's a gift that binds them together."
Buyers too appreciate Watson's work. "We don't get autographed posters of Indian pilots and the planes they fly," said Manish, a visitor. "And something likes this by a foreigner is great."
