They Keep our Soles Together
Source:Sikkim Now
In these days of wear-and-throw, one perhaps does not visit the cobbler too often, but if you do, then you would probably know where to go if your footwear shows signs of tear. I went there too, not to mend my footwear but to speak to this crowd of faces and know them individually.
Bangali Ram is perhaps the oldest of the lot, he is now 66. It was his father who had ventured into Sikkim back in 1954. He followed in the footsteps of his father along with picking up the same trade. During those days, he recalls, he, along with about eight to nine other ‘mochis’, used to set up shop outside Kiran Dry Cleaners on MG Marg. They then shifted to Naya-bazar a few steps away, and since 1988 they have been at the top-storey of the Super Market complex.
What makes Bangali Ram stand out among the rest of the cobblers is his dhoti, even in winter he is spotted with a dhoti, as if in defiance to the cold winds.
Having been around so long, he has seen many changes in the craft of shoe repair; the thread that they used earlier, he states, was “Suta Dhago” this is now replaced by the nylon thread. At present, any shoe repair job requires both pasting as well as stitching, whereas earlier just stitching was good enough, that is why “Ahile ta jhanjhat zyada cha”, says he.
Ram Avatar has also been in the capital for about 40 years. He states that most of the ‘mochis’ we sees around are originally from Bihar, but have learnt the trade in Kolkata. It is in Kolkata that most cobblers get their first lessons in the shoe repair trade, working as apprentices with no salary, he shares. There, they work for the bigger shoe industry thus picking up important trade tips. In fact, most of the cobblers are capable of creating a whole new shoe or any other kind of footwear, they have been so trained. It is the lack of space and equipment that keeps them from doing so here.
In Gangtok, we find them practicing their trade either at the top floor of the Super Market or at the corner of town adjacent to Variety Stores. Some cobblers sit separately, working in isolation with the hope of earning more as they then will not have to share their customers.
As far as their lodgings are concerned most of them live in Arithang or Tibet Road. Only a few of them bring their family here, with them, to Gangtok. They prefer to travel to their “Desh”, the native place, to meet their families. All the cobblers pay a visit to their land at least once a year.
“April, May and June are peak months when most travel down,” says Ram Avatar, these months being the marriage season. At this, he points to the one seated at the extreme end indicating that person to be one who will be leaving for his “Desh” shortly.
They have been here for a long time; each of them have spent at least twenty years here, the cobbler with the minimum years in Gangtok has spent fifteen years here, which means for each year they have spent in Gangtok, they have visited their home only once! That’s a huge sacrifice to keep ones family well looked after.
Speaking to them about the tools they use, they inform that almost all their tools are as old as their stay in Gangtok with the most important tool, “pharma” being the oldest amongst all the rest. The pharma, which Bangali Ram uses was handed down to him by his father when he moved to Tibet. He says this with a great sense of pride; “Yasto cheej paudaina ahile”, hinting at the bazaar full of “keet” (ore) materials today.
Ram Avatar shares that the pharma which he possesses is actually second hand, bought during his Kolkata training for just Rs. 8. Such equipment, they insist, is not even available anymore.
These workers came into the state long back, they were perhaps witness to the many changes that the state experienced; economically, politically and even culturally. And yet on meeting them personally, one gets the feeling that nothing really changed for them; they are where they were- how do things change and still remain the same?
But there is one change that they are somewhat excited: a roof for the cobblers at Lal Bazaar, with the excitement though, there is some fear that they might have to pay more. They are already paying Rs. 150 per month as ‘tax’, it has risen from the earlier amount of Rs. 60, along with this the fact they have to keep their equipment at a rented place in the bazaar, since the space given to them to work is not enough. Add to this the fact that we bargain with them every time we get our shoes repaired.
Source:Sikkim Now
In these days of wear-and-throw, one perhaps does not visit the cobbler too often, but if you do, then you would probably know where to go if your footwear shows signs of tear. I went there too, not to mend my footwear but to speak to this crowd of faces and know them individually.
Bangali Ram is perhaps the oldest of the lot, he is now 66. It was his father who had ventured into Sikkim back in 1954. He followed in the footsteps of his father along with picking up the same trade. During those days, he recalls, he, along with about eight to nine other ‘mochis’, used to set up shop outside Kiran Dry Cleaners on MG Marg. They then shifted to Naya-bazar a few steps away, and since 1988 they have been at the top-storey of the Super Market complex.
What makes Bangali Ram stand out among the rest of the cobblers is his dhoti, even in winter he is spotted with a dhoti, as if in defiance to the cold winds.
Having been around so long, he has seen many changes in the craft of shoe repair; the thread that they used earlier, he states, was “Suta Dhago” this is now replaced by the nylon thread. At present, any shoe repair job requires both pasting as well as stitching, whereas earlier just stitching was good enough, that is why “Ahile ta jhanjhat zyada cha”, says he.
Ram Avatar has also been in the capital for about 40 years. He states that most of the ‘mochis’ we sees around are originally from Bihar, but have learnt the trade in Kolkata. It is in Kolkata that most cobblers get their first lessons in the shoe repair trade, working as apprentices with no salary, he shares. There, they work for the bigger shoe industry thus picking up important trade tips. In fact, most of the cobblers are capable of creating a whole new shoe or any other kind of footwear, they have been so trained. It is the lack of space and equipment that keeps them from doing so here.
In Gangtok, we find them practicing their trade either at the top floor of the Super Market or at the corner of town adjacent to Variety Stores. Some cobblers sit separately, working in isolation with the hope of earning more as they then will not have to share their customers.
As far as their lodgings are concerned most of them live in Arithang or Tibet Road. Only a few of them bring their family here, with them, to Gangtok. They prefer to travel to their “Desh”, the native place, to meet their families. All the cobblers pay a visit to their land at least once a year.
“April, May and June are peak months when most travel down,” says Ram Avatar, these months being the marriage season. At this, he points to the one seated at the extreme end indicating that person to be one who will be leaving for his “Desh” shortly.
They have been here for a long time; each of them have spent at least twenty years here, the cobbler with the minimum years in Gangtok has spent fifteen years here, which means for each year they have spent in Gangtok, they have visited their home only once! That’s a huge sacrifice to keep ones family well looked after.
Speaking to them about the tools they use, they inform that almost all their tools are as old as their stay in Gangtok with the most important tool, “pharma” being the oldest amongst all the rest. The pharma, which Bangali Ram uses was handed down to him by his father when he moved to Tibet. He says this with a great sense of pride; “Yasto cheej paudaina ahile”, hinting at the bazaar full of “keet” (ore) materials today.
Ram Avatar shares that the pharma which he possesses is actually second hand, bought during his Kolkata training for just Rs. 8. Such equipment, they insist, is not even available anymore.
These workers came into the state long back, they were perhaps witness to the many changes that the state experienced; economically, politically and even culturally. And yet on meeting them personally, one gets the feeling that nothing really changed for them; they are where they were- how do things change and still remain the same?
But there is one change that they are somewhat excited: a roof for the cobblers at Lal Bazaar, with the excitement though, there is some fear that they might have to pay more. They are already paying Rs. 150 per month as ‘tax’, it has risen from the earlier amount of Rs. 60, along with this the fact they have to keep their equipment at a rented place in the bazaar, since the space given to them to work is not enough. Add to this the fact that we bargain with them every time we get our shoes repaired.
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