How important was cobbler at the corner point?
A certain dignity is there in all kinds of honest labour and each labourer his own dignity. We must respect the dignity of each human being. No one can lose his dignity till such time he earns through a poorly paid job.
There is number of humble but useful jobs that people to do and all of them play an important role in society. For instance, a street sweeper’s work is more self-effacing, yet we can well imagine the plight of the city in his absence. The same is true of a cobblers sitting in certain corners of the city.
We all must learn to respect the dignity of labour and at the same time, we should not be ashamed to do any kind of job provided that there is honest earning from that. This feeling has to be inculcated among the children to respect every labourer how poor, he may be. Our country will definitely develop when we have a right sense of values and no false pride.
You might have passed a number of times from the cobbler sitting in certain corners of the cities but you have hardly realized his importance. A cobbler does a humble job and he makes an honest living by mending shoes.
Sometimes, the moment you move out of the house to attend a grand party by wearing the best and your smile and looking good definitely makes you feel happier. But after walking a few distance with head up feeling proud suddenly there is a disaster like situation, the strip of the shoe you are wearing gets loose and it breaks and the first thing which will come to your mind to recollect to which corner, cobbler would be available.
Once, I too happened to be in such a situation, when I had to attend the party at a distant place but the sole of my shoe was separated and I started walking with a limping legs to reach to one of the corners where an old man, I still remember, named Phuman was sitting in one of the corners, after walking almost half a kilometer.
Phuman was busy in mending shoe, sandals to those with the similar situation like me but I had to wait for my turn to come and the cobbler taking my sandals in his hands. I still remember when he gave a sarcastic look at me then looked at my sandals, maybe he is thinking to his mind that the man is well dressed up but his sandals put her to awkwardness.
While the cobbler was doing his stitching work, I wonder to myself what would happen if I would not find a cobbler, all the way I would have had to walk barefoot with the broken sandal in my hand. What a shame it would be for me when the onlookers would have cracked a nice joke on me.
What I feel, if we ponder that a cobbler plays a major role of completing our attire, a fashion show is incomplete if the models don’t walk the ramp with the designer shoes and their clothes or costumes. It looks that an equal appreciation should be given to be cobbler or shoemakers who put in their best to make the success of other like that of the dress designer. In the same manner common people who want to make themselves look smart from head to foot, credit goes to the shoemaker who designs beautiful male and female shoes.
Frankly speaking, whatever may be the profession; the hard earned money like the cobbler gives you a status of your prosperity, peace of mind and pleasant future. Moreover, shoe repairing is the more convenient option when you see the cost factor of getting a new pair of shoe versus a cost of shoe repair.
Bargaining is a part and parcel of Indian life and culture and gives the poor man a chance to survive and don’t bargain for such petty amounts. It also reminded me that Cobbler comes among the ten persons with whom we should not bargain. The ten persons are – tourist guide, alternation tailor, cobbler, shoe-shine boys, coolies, local subziwalas, roadside blind vendors, plumbers and electricians, painters and dolli-wallahs in mountains.
I still remember the importance of old-timer Phuman cobbler with whom I have never bargained, in my life as without his availability on the particular, I would have been in a very discomfited and uncomfortable situation.
