The Most Underrated Profession In India

Originally Published on 02th Sept 15

Mochis ( Cobblers)

In the modern time, the lifestyle of cobblers is still primitive. They don't earn enough despite being skilled and fine workmen . They are like car mechanic who repair things. Shakespeare was more generous in his appreciation and has compared them to surgeons. 

Thou art a cobbler, art thou? Truly, sir, all that I live by is with the awl: I am indeed, sir, a surgeon to old shoes.
William Shakespeare

I have failed to appreciated cobblers. I appreciate a Barber every time I am happy with my hair cut. I let a Tailor know that the suit he stitched looks beautiful. I appreciate salespeople for their effort even if I don't buy their product . 

I am courteous while responding to telemarketing callers as they are just doing their job. They have to earn to support their family and I have no right to make them feel bad even when I can't accept that free credit card. I wave at Watchmen at office, will say something nice to the lift man, or the sweeper. The Mochis are one of the most underrated profession  for me because I had never appreciated them when I was their regular customer. 

But, the answer I am giving is based on my last experience with Mochis. They reminded me of the endless times I visited them as a kid, I used to get my sleepers repaired n numbers of times. But, I had never said them that they did a good job even when they deserved.

Why travelling by State Transport Bus is not a bad idea? 

Yesterday, I went to Alibaug with my cousins and it was a welcome change from the fast paced life of Mumbai. I did crazy things; convinced my cousins not to hire a taxi and rather take a state transport bus (I loved it as I remembered the scenes from the movie Swadesh but they regret this :P). I had a secret desire to explore a place on a shoe string budget just for the heck of adventure.

I was doing things without thinking about getting judged. May be I was tired of being too formal and sophisticated and so was doing things that were definitely outside my comfort zone. 

At Alibaug, We trekked Colaba Fort of Shivaji Maharaj and were amazed at it's beauty. It was raining in the sun and we took shelter under a tree. It was an amazing experience. We saw rainbow, played silly games and I was jumping in water like a kid, I was living my childhood and all of a sudden I realized that  my sophisticated sandals could not hold the thrill and were severely damaged. I was not in a position to wear them.

I thought of dumping them in Garbage Bin and buy myself new pair of sandals. But, I didn't throw them as I was enjoying carrying them in hand and getting some pictures in different poses.

Even after searching for shops for shoes/sandals, I couldn't find one till a kilometer or so. It was hurting my legs as due to being in water for  long time, they had become sensitive and walking bare-foot was really painful. 

Only when I lost all hope of getting a new sandal, I saw a Mochi. My eyes glowed with hope. I went to him and requested to get my sandals repaired.  He did that within 10 minutes and during that time, I was just inquiring about him like I had been doing with many others on that day.

(He seemed immersed in his work but was patiently responding to me)

Finally He said, "Sir, it's done". Twenty Rupees.

I paid him what tiny amount he asked plus some extra money. Then, I got down and sat near him. I told him that I was desperately looking to get a sandal or shoe but couldn't find a shop. I was really thankful to him. I requested for a photo and he happily obliged. Before leaving, I told him that I will write about this on my blog.

He gave a big smile and said that, "I am just doing my job". [I felt he was saying thank you] 

(By this time, three girls had arrived and they were clueless about what was going on. I happily leaved the scene with a smile)

Mochis work really hard, they don't own a shop, they work on footpath 365 days a year. Really, No work is Small.