Around 11 a.m., Mumbai’s Jio World Drive in Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), where the company’s first physical store in India is located, saw the opening of its doors to hundreds of fans and tech aficionados. Among them, a very fortunate handful managed to see the Apple CEO, like Mumbai resident Purav, who had been waiting outside the store since 8 p.m. the previous evening in order to meet Tim Cook and get him to autograph his gadgets.
Details about A Mumbai man who waited 15 hours outside the Apple BKC store to get his iPod signed by CEO Tim Cook
Purav was the first customer to enter the Apple shop after Cook allowed the general public access to it, thus he got his dream. Tim Cook gave him a hug and signed his 10-year-old iPod as he was making his way inside the building. The man’s joy in realising his dream was evident.
But it wasn’t an easy victory. To make sure they were among the first people inside the Apple shop, Purva and his two other pals, Kartik (from Jodhpur) and Madhav (from Pune), had to wait outside for nearly 15 hours. The three of them utilised food delivery apps to get their meals for the night while they slept on a bench outside the business. As early as four in the morning, they began to queue outside the store.
Interestingly, all three of them had connected via Twitter, and their first in-person encounter took place in front of the business.
Tim Cook is the biggest celebrity in Purav’s eyes, he told India Today Tech & Fibre. “We originally planned to come to the store at around 6 or 7 am in the morning but the Apple fan inside couldn’t wait, so they ended up staying here all night.”
Sajid Moeenudin, a professional designer, was the second Apple lover who attracted a lot of attention. He arrived outside the store as early as 6am and, more importantly, he had his first Macintosh SE with him, which he had purchased in 1984. Even Tim Cook was shocked to see the ancient Mac and signed it for Sajid, who now uses a MacBook Pro with an M1 processor.
“With this SE model, I began my design career. I’ve kept it ever since,” Sajid said to India Today Tech and FIIBER, adding ironically that he can now sell the Macintosh at an auction for considerably more money.
Customers can now visit the Apple store in BKC, and on April 20 the Saket location in Delhi will welcome them.
