This month Blowing Bubbles caught up with Adoksh Shastry from the Indian Hammers.
When was the Indian Hammers founded?
It all started with Varun Issar, one of our founding members, being featured on the West Ham website in 2010. Scouting social media for Indian Hammers, I came across the article and got in touch with him and after that we both of spent a year trying to locate West Ham fans across India. Our search for Indian Hammers took us to Chennai and Bangalore in South India, Goa in the West, Meghalaya and Shillong in the East, and Delhi and Chandhighar and Bombay up North. Today the group is strong and spread across the country.
How many members are there in your group today?
The membership is fairly small considering the number of football fans in India. But understandably most of these fans are newer fans and only support the so-called ‘big clubs’. The Indian Hammers comprises of about 45 members who are passionate about the club and have been following it through the ages. We successfully had a Bangalore meet up to watch West Ham beat Liverpool and a Goa meet up is in the offing which would be a national meet.
How many times do members travel to games?
A few of our members have travelled to the games in London. The distance is a hinderance but whenever our members travel on work or leisure, Upton Park is the first stop in London. A few of our members were present at the FA Cup Final of 2006 and we hope to have an Indian Hammer contingent present at the final game at Upton Park. Hopefully it will work out financially.
What are the benefits of being part of your group?
We enjoy the matches over a pint of beer and with bubbles in the air. West Ham fans in India or from India can write in to us atadoksh@gmail. com and westhamindia@ gmail.com. We can also be found on Twitter @ indianhammers.
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