did he really make shoes for gabbar singh? 'Little corner' he calls his shop. 'Fida' he calls himself. sitting in a seedy, wet, overly-mirrored (he said he was in a reflective mood) carton-sized store, surrounded by chappals that mirza ghalib, jahangir, allabaksh of shivajinagar, pooja tandon from vogue fashion designing institute and some penniless shoppers with honest faces would venture to buy. a "14-year-old" boy helps you try on some pairs... you get gingery sugarcane juice (Kempfort, take a hike!)... and the bestest part: unbelievable conversation!!
"oh,these kolhapuris chappals are fully hand-made... hamara (note the royal collective pronoun) export ka business hai. tamil nadu, hyderabad, mumbai, we export everywhere. you know, sholay? haaan... you know gabbar singh's shoes? abhi dikhatha hoon. (rummages in chappal pile at his feet and fishes out a huuuuge shoe, face beaming with pride of possession) we made this. (pause for effect) if you want, we can get it custom-made for your size."
i do some basanti bits, and he does some "arey oh saamba!". before we get to the "jab thak hai jaan... mai nachoongi" part, i quickly change the subject. who is that person shaking mohammed ali's hand in that framed photo? What?? YOU, MR.FIDA?? What?? You've met madonna and micheal jackson? some people just have aalll the luck.
i say this with deeply felt guilt: the conversation got me the chappal for half the rate. but i came back home with more gyan about how married life weakens your hair follicles & how a squint makes you lucky. wonder how i can wear-out my footwear faster...
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