Colloquium pare

1. So
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2. 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

3. I *
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 15-
20 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.

4. 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
balutedar
designed and made were appreciated by someone gave me immense
O
satisfaction and a sense of pride. Much to my fathers delight, ver 60% of India’s population lives in villages and small
this incident had greatly increased my interest in the profession. towns. Farmers make up a large percentage of this. In villages,
Something he always hoped would happen. 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

5. taught in school, I knew so much about the world I lived in. The real and settlements. Since our village has the largest marketplace
world. I could barely even read Marathi, but I knew everything about amongst these villages, the people from these settlements come to
my profession. our village to buy everything from groceries to clothes. And several
times, people came with outlines of feet, belonging to their mothers
It wasn’t long before people recognized my skill in the village. I was and wives. Sometimes, these ‘templates’ were neatly drawn out on
known for making very good children’s chappals. I even had a few pieces of paper, sometimes even on pieces of wood. Some would just
regular customers. show us the size of the foot by hand gestures, while other relied on
‘fingerspans’ as units of measurements.
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

6. styles
T
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

7. gandhi Chappal landlord Shoes ( jodi )
I 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
E 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.
customers was because the aesthetic of these chappals perfectly One look at their attire is enough to identify them from a crowd of
complimented the attire of the villager. People in rural Maharashtra villagers.
wear a ‘Dhoti’ ‘Sadra’ and a ‘Topi’ A Gandhi chappal seems the natural
choice of footwear then. 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
Another reason could be because these chappals are extremely light a statement too.
weat, yet very sturdy. They can easily be identified because of their
single strap and elegent appearence. 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.

8. super chappal 4-strap chappal
T 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’.
T 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
As its name suggests, this chappal is truly super in many ways. Its a super chappal, but a closer inspection would reveal that these infact
stylish chappal worn mostly by the youth. These chappals cover the only had 3 straps. They fit the users foor snugly too, and were very
entire foot and snugly fit the users foot. The snug fit also ensures that comfortable. They looked simple yet sophisticated.
they do not come off easily even while running.
The demand for these chappals was so high during those days that Personally I found making these chappals very boring. Hence, I’d just
I could barely keep up. I remember having made so many of these make the straps, and leave the rest to my father.
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.

9. kolhapuri chappal grooms wedding shoe
W 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
I 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
years, so much so that they are mostly worn by city folk who want a custom dictates, the brides family pays for the grooms wedding shoes,
‘traditional look’ for a wedding reception or a festival. this always meant good business for us as the groom chose the most
expensive pair on sale.
The authentic Kolhapuri chappals are made of ox leather and have
‘ERANDI OIL’ applied to make the leather soft. 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
Some Kolhapuri chappals are highly decorated and ornamental, thus most of these. However I always made sure he let me colour the shoes.
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 Wedding shoes were always dyed red. Red was an auspicious colour.
after being drenched in rain. The ornamental look and rich colour of Marriages signify a new phase in a persons life, and people cosidred
this chappal mean that they look good when worn with traditional wearing black on this day to be un-auspicious. This belief was not
‘sherwani’s’ and Nehru shirts. 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.

10. material
I
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.

11. 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 :
equipment
‘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
A
nails ( masuri khile ) : lthough its been a long time since I have practiced the trade of
These are special nails used mostly in chappals. We used to refer to making shoes, things it has taught me remain with me. I owe
them as the ‘big nails’. They are essential while making chappals. 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
nails ( tingal khile ) : I learnt in those days will remain with me forever, and has helped me
These are very small and thin nails used exclusively in the making of throughtout my life so far.
shoes.
tarpaulin ( tarpatri ) : raapi hasti :
Tarpaulin or tadpatri us used to make the inner lining of shoes. It is also One of the most This is used to
used as the inner lining for the straps of chappals. Another material important is the raapi. hammer nails into
called CHIL is also used in places of tarpaulin sometimes. I have accidently cut leather, as well as
my hand many time flatten and shape the
nylon thread : while using this tool. leather. It is a tool
Nylon thread is known to be extremely strong. It was the strongest However this tool that needs to be used
thread that was available to us. I recall a few times when I accidentally essential while cutting carefully.
cut my hands because of this thread. kurum, leather etc.
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 : saw ( aari ) : peed :
Regmal is used in the repair of old shoes and chappals. This is a small, yet is a piece of wood on
very important tool. which the leather is
rexine : cut.
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.

12. pliers ( chimta ) : tongs ( pakad ) :
It is an essential shoe Another pair of tongs,
making tool used (used extensively
most often to remove while making shoes)
nails that have been
wrongly hammered.
nanded
N
various punches : sandan : anded’ is the closest district place to my village Manjram. I
Various punches are Used made at least one visit every month to Nanded, to buy all the
available depending while hammering materials needed to make the shoes and chapels. Nanded had
on the nails in the a large market where I could buy all the supplies at reasonable rates.
design required. soles of I used to make the trip all by myself ever since I was 14. I set out from
shoes. 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.
a pot ( kundal ) : nishan ( carborundum
To hold water which stone ) : I cannot recall how many trips I made during those years, but my father
is used while wetting A stone keeps telling me that some of the shopkeepers in Nanded still enquire
the leather. used to about me. I can proudly say that almost all the business decisions were
sharpen tools. 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.

13. readymade footwear
( branded goods )
A
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.

14. *
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.
W
Apart from workers and farmers, almost everyone in the village owned hat I have described so far has been my journey during my
a pair of these, specially used during the rains. school years. Time I largely spent away from books, school
and education. It was only when I made it to the 10th grade
paras : in school that I realized that I could not even read and write with
We sold both shoes and chappals made by the Paras Shoe Company. confidence.
The shoes in particular were quite popular amongst the older
customers, as they were extremely light weight. They were commonly Nothing had ever intimidated me all my life, but as my final exams of
referred to as ‘nylon boots’ as the thin material offered excellent school approached, I realized how much I had neglected school and
flexibility and were easy to clean. education all my life. I had never thought it to be important all these
years. I knew that had to change.
apex shoes :
Apex Brand shoes and chapels were the biggest competitors to the Ever since I can remember, my mother has been my biggest pillar of
‘national chappals’. These were priced competitively and had better support. She had always encouraged me to dream, and had backed my
designs on offer. As they were more comfortable too, they eventually every decision. When I expressed the desire to concentrate on studies,
outsold the ‘national chappals’. 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.
These were some of the brands whose footwear we stocked and sold. 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