A slow death of the famed Darjeeling shoes
SILIGURI: Darjeeling shoemakers Basant Thapa and Kumar Sarki recount their good old days when the youngsters of the hill town used to wait for weeks, sometimes for months, to grab a pair of their shoes, including the fashionable Dingo boots
SILIGURI: Darjeeling shoemakers Basant Thapa and Kumar Sarki recount their good old days when the youngsters of the hill town used to wait for weeks, sometimes for months, to grab a pair of their shoes, including the fashionable Dingo boots.
The golden days are over long back and a handful of local shoemakers in Darjeeling hills are struggling to survive in the competitive market as they see no hope for the revival of their business.
62-year-old Thapa, father of two children, is one of the few surviving local shoemakers who continue to be in the business even as this means no income for days.
Thapa and Sarki said the local shoemakers were selling shoes made by themselves till the early 2000s. The Chinese shoemakers and Chinese shoe sellers have almost vanished from the hills of West Bengal. They failed to compete with the big brands and moved out in search of greener pastures.
Thapa, who learned shoemaking from the Chinese merchants in the 1980s said: “As the big brands were not available till the late 90s, even the stylish and rich youngsters of Darjeeling used to buy shoes from me and other local shoemakers. At times, I used to sell more than 10 pairs of shoes a day. We used to hire people from the plains to ensure that the deliveries were made on time. Now I hardly sell a pair in a week.”
Then why is he continuing in the business?
“I am already 62-years-old and cannot start a new business. Again, starting a new business needs money, which I don’t have. However, there are some old-timers who are my dedicated buyers. So far, they have helped me survive,” Thapa answered.
Local shoemakers or cobblers lagged behind in style, finishing, and competitiveness thus failing to attract the youngsters.
Thapa said: “Due to lack of government support, we could not introduce modern technology and methods. If this continues, locally made shoes would become a thing of the past after 10 years.”
The town of Darjeeling, known as the Queen of the Hills, famous for its beauty and fashion, had almost 50 shoemakers making some of the best shoes including Dingo boots.
Sarki, a dedicated and loyal user of his own shoes, said: “Now, even my children do not wear the shoes I make. During their school days, the shoes which I stitched were my children’s favorite. There were times when school students only wore school shoes we made or from Bata,”
“I still remember the days in the 80s when I used to get orders even from far-flung areas like Delhi and Kolkata, particularly from visiting tourists, Sarki said adding that it is because of a few suit-wearing people and policemen that he is managing to sell some shoes today.
“There are a few people who wear suits and they order shoes from me. There are also some policemen who have always stood by me and are ordering the shoes I have been making since 1972,” Sarki told HT.
Though Thapa and Sarki agree that branded shoes are cheaper than their shoes, they claim that locally made shoes are durable and healthy.
Remembering the good time, Sarki said “There were scores of Chinese shoemakers who had put up shops across Darjeeling and Kalimpong hills. Many of the local people were trained by the Chinese. At least half of Darjeeling’s local shoemakers were trained by the Chinese.”
“The Chinese were smart and they could foresee the future and left the business and started something else,” said Thapa.
Pavitra Shankar, the owner of Foot Care, a shoe shop in Darjeeling town’s Chowk Bazar said: “Once we had factories both in Darjeeling and Siliguri where more than 14 people were employed.”
Her husband, who died last year, had started the shop, where only shoes manufactured in their own factories were sold. The shop is still doing a brisk business.
“But the difference is now we sell only shoes brought from outside and branded ones. I will hand over the machines and equipment we have in our now-closed factories to anyone willing to take up the task,” she said.
There are hardly any takers though for locally made shoes as they are costly.
Darjeeling’s old-timers who always fancied about the local shoes during their young days recollect the stories of how they used to wait for weeks to get a pair of their favorite shoes.
Rajen Moktan, a retired police officer said: “During our college days we had no choice but to buy from local shoemakers. But there were choices as there were many sellers, both locals and the Chinese who had settled down in Darjeeling. They were making shoes locally. I still remember the days when I used to buy shoes at prices like ₹20 to ₹25.”
“The hill youngsters used to flaunt locally made stylish shoes in Darjeeling and Kalimpong towns when they were hardly available in cities like Kolkata,” said Thapa.
Kiran Baraily, a Darjeeling resident who studied in Darjeeling’s Government College in the early 1970s said: “We were five boys and three girls in our college group. We all used to buy shoes together and used to place orders before local shoemakers. I remember the days when we waited for more than a month to get our deliveries. After that, we all used to flaunt and go around the town wearing new shoes and drawing people’s attention.”
Those are bygone eras and we cannot think that time will return. But we can at least sustain for some time provided the government gives us financial support, both Thapa and Sarki said.
When narrated the plight of local shoemakers like Thapa and Sarki, Moktan said: “What we as individuals can do is to buy at least a pair of shoes occasionally from them.”
Moktan who now stays in Siliguri said: “Next time when I go to Darjeeling, I will visit Thapa or Sarki and buy one pair of shoes.”
If people like Moktan come forward, they can bring smiles to the faces of Thapa and Sarki.
