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As the old saying goes, “When your feet hurt, you hurt all over.�
Sole for Soul balaji raosaheb waghmare PGDPD graphic design 4th semester,2010 guide & teacher - Chakradhar Sasvade & Immanuel Suresh thanks - aditya somway
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Balaji Waghmare was born on the 17th of July 1986, in the small town of Manjram in Maharashtra. My father a cobbler by profession, always wanted the family profession to be carried on by his children.
Chappals and shoes then were my toys as I grew up learning the family profession. I learnt all the tricks of the trade early as my father passed on all his knowledge and expertise. In those days, I found working with my father far more interesting than anything they taught in school. Besides, I was never a very bright student at school, and getting scolded at and punished at school meant that making shoes was almost like a refuge or getaway for me. Unlike school, I had so much freedom at work. Things were so much more enjoyable. I used to work all day along with my father in our shop, and made about 1520 rupees a day. Half of this money my father let me keep. This money made me feel independent at a very young age. I wondered why people went to schools and studied, when they could just earn money by working hard. Over the years, I have grown as a person and my childhood views about education might have changed. But one view has always remained unchanged. Hard work is essential to success, no matter what field you chose.
I returned home from school one day to see my father eagerly working away on something with a large pile of leather in front of him. It was inspiring to see him so engrossed in making a new pair of chapels. I knew I wanted to make my own pair of chapels. All the days of helping him around the shop meant that I was familiar with almost all the tools. It didn’t take long for me to put together my first design. My first pair of chapels. My joy knew no bounds when I learnt that the chapels I had made were sold the very next day! Knowing that the chappals I had designed and made were appreciated by someone gave me immense satisfaction and a sense of pride. Much to my fathers delight, this incident had greatly increased my interest in the profession. Something he always hoped would happen.
balutedar
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ver 60% of India’s population lives in villages and small towns. Farmers make up a large percentage of this. In villages, communities and people are identified by their profession. My village is no different. Some important profession or “BALUTEDARS” are: 01. mochi ( cobbler ) 02. sutar ( carpenter ) 03. kumbhar ( potter ) 04. lohar ( ironsmith ) 05. varti ( laundry man ) 06. vaarik ( barber ) 07. gurav ( .............. ) 08. jangam ( priest ) 09. ghisadi ( ............. ) 10. saalevaar ( ............. ) 11. mistri ( mason ) 12. simpi ( tailor ) Traditionally, the members of these communities worked and helped each other. There was always a mutual understanding and respect for each others professions. Possibly the poorest of these were the farmers. So much so, that in the olden days, farmers never had any money to buy even basic necessities and groceries. This meant, they bought everything on credit from the local traders, only to pay them back at the end of the harvest season. Keeping an account of all the expenses then was a very important duty. In my family, I was entrusted with this job. It seems ironic now, that although I was in class 7 and understood almost nothing of what was
taught in school, I knew so much about the world I lived in. The real world. I could barely even read Marathi, but I knew everything about my profession. It wasn’t long before people recognized my skill in the village. I was known for making very good children’s chappals. I even had a few regular customers. The whole experience of buying a pair of shoes or chappals in villages is very different from the cities. In cities, for example, if one intends to buy footwear, he can just step into a store and chose from an almost endless list of options. There is so much variety on offer. Its a whole different world in villages though. Footwear stores are not a common sight. Villagers still prefer to get their pair of chapplas or shoes from the village cobbler. The lack of ‘shoe stores’ might be just one reason why cobblers are preffered, but there are many other reasons too. Possibly the single biggest difference between a livvage cobbler and a shoe store, is the fact that a cobbler lets the customer pay for his footwear in installments, or sometimes at a later date! No shop/store can mathch that. Besides, a cobbler can even take care of a damaged or old pair of chappals. And finally, a cobbler gives the user the freedom to have a pair of chapplas/shoes custom designed for him, which are always a perfect fit. Whenver I made a pair of chapplas, I made it a point to call the customer and make a note of his footsize. Even the fitting of the belt/ strap (that holds the chappal together) would always happen after I consulted the customer. This always ensured a perfect fit. In villages like mine, it was only men who visited the cobblers to buy footwear. Custom dictated, that only men go to the cobblers store to buy shoes/chappals. Women never ventured out of their homes to buy footwear. Whenever a wealthy mans wife would want to buy a pair of chappals, my mother would be informed, and she would then take a few pairs of chappals and go over to the customers house. The women would then buy what they liked. If none of the pairs fit, my mother would draw an outline of the womans feet on a piece of paper and bring it home for me to make a pair of chappals. Our village Manjram, is surrounded by a number of smaller villages
and settlements. Since our village has the largest marketplace amongst these villages, the people from these settlements come to our village to buy everything from groceries to clothes. And several times, people came with outlines of feet, belonging to their mothers and wives. Sometimes, these ‘templates’ were neatly drawn out on pieces of paper, sometimes even on pieces of wood. Some would just show us the size of the foot by hand gestures, while other relied on ‘fingerspans’ as units of measurements.
styles
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hese days, everyone in cities prefers to wear branded footwear. Everyone wants to or aspires to own a branded pair of shoes, or sandals, or chappals. But even today the situation in the rural parts of the country is very different. Most brands are not even marketed in the smaller parts of the country. Even if they are available, they are too expensive for the village locals to afford. Besides, even if a farmer could afford a pair of branded shoes, he would not prefer to wear them to work everyday while toiling away in his farm. The heat, the mud and the water would ruin the pair of shoes in no time. Thus, farmers still prefer to get their ‘everyday pair’ of shoes made by the local cobbler. This ensures not only a comfortable fit, but also a sturdy and long lasting pair of shoes at a very reasonable price. And the local cobbler is never too far away should the need to repair arise. I fondly remember there being some very popular style of chappals. People would come to us and ask for a a particular style of chappals/ shoes, and we would happily oblige by making them a pair. The most popular styles were: 01. Gandhi Chappals 02. The ‘Jodi’ 03. Super Chappals, 04. 4-Strap Chappal 05. Kolhapuri Chappals, 06. Groom’s wedding shoes
gandhi Chappal
landlord Shoes ( jodi )
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personally feel the design of these chappals have been around since the time of Mahatma Gandhi. These were more popular among the older clientele. One reason for their popularity among the older customers was because the aesthetic of these chappals perfectly complimented the attire of the villager. People in rural Maharashtra wear a ‘Dhoti’ ‘Sadra’ and a ‘Topi’ A Gandhi chappal seems the natural choice of footwear then. Another reason could be because these chappals are extremely light weat, yet very sturdy. They can easily be identified because of their single strap and elegent appearence.
very village has a community of landlords. My village was no different. Landlords consider themselves superior to the farmer and peasents of the village. Their sense of dressing is very distictive. One look at their attire is enough to identify them from a crowd of villagers. A bright white starched dhoti, a crisp white sadra and a red turban are hallmarks of a landlord. It is only fitting then, that their footwear make a statement too. Locally called a ‘Jodi’, the landlords shoes are made specially from the leather of an ox. Special oils ‘ERANDI OIL’ are used to make the leather soft. Intrestingly these shoes make a distictive ‘kar-kar’ sound. Villagers can identify a landlord arriving through the crowd even from a long way away. These shoes are also used by people who sleep in farms at night, because it is believed that the scent of the ox leather wards snakes and insects away. The leather is also believed to be benificial to the uses health.
super chappal
4-strap chappal
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he Gandhi chappal and ‘jodis’ discussed so far are popular among the older section of the populatin. Youngsters too have footwear to suit their needs and taste. An example is the ‘Super Chappal’. As its name suggests, this chappal is truly super in many ways. Its a stylish chappal worn mostly by the youth. These chappals cover the entire foot and snugly fit the users foot. The snug fit also ensures that they do not come off easily even while running. The demand for these chappals was so high during those days that I could barely keep up. I remember having made so many of these chapplas, that I was bored, and dreaded making any more. Still, I must confess, the super chappal remains my favorite of all the styles of footwear.
he viriety of chappals that we made for women was very wide too. for instance, older women preferred to wear a style of chappals that was very similar to the super chappal that the younger people wore. These chappals had 4 straps that made them resmeble the super chappal, but a closer inspection would reveal that these infact only had 3 straps. They fit the users foor snugly too, and were very comfortable. They looked simple yet sophisticated. Personally I found making these chappals very boring. Hence, I’d just make the straps, and leave the rest to my father.
kolhapuri chappal
grooms wedding shoe
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ho hasn’t heard of the Kolhapuri Chappal. Originally made in Kolhapur from ox leather, these chappals were very popular in rural India. However their popularity has gradually reduced over the years, so much so that they are mostly worn by city folk who want a ‘traditional look’ for a wedding reception or a festival. The authentic Kolhapuri chappals are made of ox leather and have ‘ERANDI OIL’ applied to make the leather soft. Some Kolhapuri chappals are highly decorated and ornamental, thus very expensive. They are not as robust as the other chappals and need to be taken care of. For instance the leather tends to crack in the sun after being drenched in rain. The ornamental look and rich colour of this chappal mean that they look good when worn with traditional ‘sherwani’s’ and Nehru shirts.
n my opinion, the most popular kind of shoe was always the grooms wedding shoe. In my village, these shoes costed anywhere between Rs. 400 and Rs.500, and were a very good source of income for us. As custom dictates, the brides family pays for the grooms wedding shoes, this always meant good business for us as the groom chose the most expensive pair on sale. Making these was considerably more difficult than all the other types of shoes. It also required a lot of effort and strength. My father made most of these. However I always made sure he let me colour the shoes. Wedding shoes were always dyed red. Red was an auspicious colour. Marriages signify a new phase in a persons life, and people cosidred wearing black on this day to be un-auspicious. This belief was not restricted only ot familys of the Hindu faith, but even extended to the Muslim family’s around town. The bride too had special chappals made for the big day. These were fairly simple to make, and I enjoyed making them. The designs included a very intricately detailed strap, and soft leather. These too were coloured red.
material
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ts been almost ten years since I made my last pair of shoes. I must admit I have already forgotten most of the terms associated with the trade. I do however recall a few which I shall describe.
diamond leather : The leather used to make the top surface of shoes is called “Kurum”, and a company called the Diamond Leather Company made the most expensive Kurum Leather at the time. I did not use much of this leather asit was expensive, and there wasn’t too much demand for it. There are different grades and variety’s of leather available. The local leather was thicker and more hard to work with when compared to the ready-made leather. Ready-made leather, was much softer, and really easy to mould and work with. Local leather often needed to be soaked in water and beaten thin before it could be worked upon. tyre patti : For the bottom part (sole) of the chappals, we often used the rubber from used 4-wheeler tyres. This rubber was extremely robust and wear resistant. The villagers working in farms preferred this as it was long lasting and extremely tough. hawai sole : The rubber for these soles made from the tyres of aircraft. This makes it very expensive. Only a few customers could afford these. These were however very tough while being extremely light weight.
fix bond : ‘Fix Bond’ was the brand name of a very strong adhesive solution we used to stick together pieces of rubber. This being an expensive solution was used cautiously. However the Hawai chappal could be made only with the use of this solution. top set : ‘Top set’ solution was a brand that was relatively inexpensive. I remember using a lot of this solution as it could join almost any two materials. We called this the DODH SOLUTION nails ( masuri khile ) : These are special nails used mostly in chappals. We used to refer to them as the ‘big nails’. They are essential while making chappals. nails ( tingal khile ) : These are very small and thin nails used exclusively in the making of shoes. tarpaulin ( tarpatri ) : Tarpaulin or tadpatri us used to make the inner lining of shoes. It is also used as the inner lining for the straps of chappals. Another material called CHIL is also used in places of tarpaulin sometimes. nylon thread : Nylon thread is known to be extremely strong. It was the strongest thread that was available to us. I recall a few times when I accidentally cut my hands because of this thread.
equipment
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lthough its been a long time since I have practiced the trade of making shoes, things it has taught me remain with me. I owe a lot to this profession. It has had a major role in defining my character as a person. The patience, hard work and persivierence that I learnt in those days will remain with me forever, and has helped me throughtout my life so far.
raapi One of the most important is the raapi. I have accidently cut my hand many time while using this tool. However this tool essential while cutting kurum, leather etc.
hasti : This is used to hammer nails into leather, as well as flatten and shape the leather. It is a tool that needs to be used carefully.
saw ( aari ) : This is a small, yet very important tool.
peed : is a piece of wood on which the leather is cut.
Another thread that is widely used is the SUTHI THREAD. It is very soft when compared to the nylon thread and not as strong either. regmal : Regmal is used in the repair of old shoes and chappals. rexine : Rexine was a very new material for me. I was fascinated by it and loved to use it. The wide range of colours and textures available in rexine meant that it was very popular among customers. Even today it remains very popular among the rural customers.
pliers ( chimta ) : It is an essential shoe making tool used most often to remove nails that have been wrongly hammered.
tongs ( pakad ) : Another pair of tongs, (used extensively while making shoes)
nanded various punches : Various punches are available depending on the design required.
sandan : Used while hammering nails in the soles of shoes.
a pot ( kundal ) : To hold water which is used while wetting the leather.
nishan ( carborundum stone ) : A stone used to sharpen tools.
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anded’ is the closest district place to my village Manjram. I made at least one visit every month to Nanded, to buy all the materials needed to make the shoes and chapels. Nanded had a large market where I could buy all the supplies at reasonable rates. I used to make the trip all by myself ever since I was 14. I set out from home every weekend, made all the purchases, bargaining at every store, before returning home with all the supplies. My father was initially apprehensive about sending me alone on these trips, but it didn’t take me long to convince him that I could infect manage it all on my own. I must admit the only thing I feared during those trips was losing my money to robbers or pickpockets. I cannot recall how many trips I made during those years, but my father keeps telling me that some of the shopkeepers in Nanded still enquire about me. I can proudly say that almost all the business decisions were made by me during those years. From selecting materials to buy, to choosing the ‘ready-made’ shoes that we would resell in the village, I made all the decisions. When I was 14, my father fell extremely ill and was bedridden for almost a whole year. All the responsibility of running the business as well as the house fell upon me. I took charge of everything, almost neglecting my education as it was very hard to balance all the responsibilities. It was a tough year for me, as I had to juggle so many responsibilities.
Looking back at that year now, I can say that I learnt a lot about business, life and people in those 12 months. Things were not easy, but the lessons I learnt and the experiences made me a more confident, caring and strong person. I will always look back at that year as one of the crucial phases of my life.
readymade footwear ( branded goods )
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part from making and selling our designs of shoes and chappals, we also stocked some readymade footwear. This we purchased at a ‘wholesale’ rate from the city, and sold to our customers in the village. This constituted a large part of our total income. I still remember some of the brand names, whose footwear we sold a the shop. national slippers : These were rubber slippers for men, that costed only Rs.22. We sold each pair for Rs. 35, thereby making a handsome profit. These were extremely popular among children and youngsters as they were comfortable and rugged. lakhani chappals : Both mens, and womens chappals made by ‘Lakhani’ were sold by us in the store. They were quite expensive compared to the other chappals in the store, with each pair costing about Rs.50. As a result, not everyone could afford these. They were however very durable, and I have known some women who wore these to work in the fields, and never complained about their quality of comfort. I recall many villagers referred to these chapels as Lakhan Chappals, as they could never pronounce the name Lakhani.
paragon chappals : We only stocked a few of these are they were very similar to the ‘national chappals’, yet much more expensive. Naturally the demand for these was not very high. The few that we sold, were usually bought by younger from the well-to-do families of the village. casio shoes : These were shoes that were ideal for use during the rainy season. They were water resistant and extremely durable. Most farmers who worked in the fields during the rains bought these shoes as they offered good protection from the rain. Apart from workers and farmers, almost everyone in the village owned a pair of these, specially used during the rains. paras : We sold both shoes and chappals made by the Paras Shoe Company. The shoes in particular were quite popular amongst the older customers, as they were extremely light weight. They were commonly referred to as ‘nylon boots’ as the thin material offered excellent flexibility and were easy to clean. apex shoes : Apex Brand shoes and chapels were the biggest competitors to the ‘national chappals’. These were priced competitively and had better designs on offer. As they were more comfortable too, they eventually outsold the ‘national chappals’. These were some of the brands whose footwear we stocked and sold.
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hat I have described so far has been my journey during my school years. Time I largely spent away from books, school and education. It was only when I made it to the 10th grade in school that I realized that I could not even read and write with confidence. Nothing had ever intimidated me all my life, but as my final exams of school approached, I realized how much I had neglected school and education all my life. I had never thought it to be important all these years. I knew that had to change. Ever since I can remember, my mother has been my biggest pillar of support. She had always encouraged me to dream, and had backed my every decision. When I expressed the desire to concentrate on studies, it was she who decided that I needed to be relieved of all duties at the shop. She pushed me to put all my heart and efforts into my studies. I worked extremely hard at my studies and managed to do well in my final exams at school. I would like to conclude by writing about a person who is responsible in a big way for shaping my life. My 8th grade arts and drawing teacher was an inspiration for many of us at school. I had always had an inclination towards arts and drawing. His inspiring classes and encouraging nature made me enjoy education. It was during those days in his class, that I made up my mind that I wanted to pursue a career in arts. My sitting here and writing this is in many ways a tribute then to all those people who made me believe in my abilities, and