Most of his hair has turned white, as have his moustache and beard. Wrinkles crease his forehead and his eyes are slightly sunken. A gentle smile lingers on his face, yet a shadow of uncertainty clouds his gaze.
His name is Sukumar Rabidas, now in his fifties. He lives in the Rabidas Polli of Faridpur town. For nearly 40 years, he has been crafting shoes and sandals, stitching and repairing worn-out footwear, dyeing and polishing shoes.
He works by the roadside in Moyrapatti, on the bank of the Kumar River, in front of a sanitary ware shop. His father and grandfather practiced the exact same trade. Sukumar learned the craft from his father, who had learned it from his own father. And so it has continued, down through the generations.
A conversation struck up with Sukumar by that very roadside one day. He sits down for work around 10:00 am and heads home at night, taking a brief midday break to eat lunch at home. "There is not much income," he says. "Some days I earn Tk 500, some days Tk 300. Even less on some days. It's a daily struggle to run the household..."
There are four members in Sukumar’s family. His wife, Shobha Rani Rabidas is a homemaker. His daughter Tumpa has completed her SSC examinations, while his son Manoj is in the eighth grade. Sukumar is the sole breadwinner in his family. He says that this financial hardship is not his alone, almost everyone in his profession faces the same situation.
Market flooded with machine-made shoes
People in this line of work did not always face such distress. Sukumar recalls, "Handmade shoes and sandals used to be in demand. Every month, people would place orders for five to 10 dozen pairs. But now the market is flooded with machine-made shoes and sandals..."
Nowadays, he receives orders for only about 18 to 20 pairs a month. Even then, not everyone who places an order comes back to pick them up. Some pay an advance and never return. He tries to sell them to other customers. Some find buyers, while others remain unsold for a long time.
According to Sukumar, he makes a profit of roughly Tk 100 per pair, earning around Tk 2000 a month from crafting new shoes. His main income comes from repairing, dyeing and polishing old shoes, which brings in about Tk 15,000 a month.
In total, he makes around Tk 17,000 monthly. Yet, as he puts it, even a very frugal household needs at least Tk 800 a day to get by. He therefore has to borrow money and buy groceries on credit from local shops. There is a cooperative society in their community from which he takes loans and repays them in weekly instalments. In Sukumar’s words, he is trapped in a cycle of debt.
Only four shoemakers left in Moyrapatti
Braving both scorching heat and rain, Sukumar has to sit out in the open by the roadside. "Our ancestors worked like this and we are carrying on in the same way," he says. "But it feels bad to sit and work by the roadside. Of course, I have never demanded that we be given a place to work. I have not heard that our fathers or grandfathers ever made such a demand either."
The number of people in this profession is also declining. Sukumar explains, "Young people today do not want to take up this profession. I see no interest among them in learning this trade. Some work in salons, while others take jobs at different shops in markets. Yet, during the Pakistan era, 20 to 25 cobblers from our community used to sit right here at Moyrapotti. For a long time after independence, the numbers remained roughly the same. But over the years, many passed away. Now, there are only four of us left in this neighborhood."
Sukumar does not want his son to enter this trade, nor does his son show any interest to follow in his forebears' footsteps. So why does he regret the decline in the number of people in the trade?
Sukumar says he has no regrets. Even if the numbers shrink, the profession will never completely vanish. As he puts it, "As long as our community exists, this profession will remain. Not everyone can afford to educate their children. Those who do not get an education will take up this trade."
Struggling to survive against all odds
A visit to Sukumar’s home in the Rabidas neighbourhood revealed a small, dilapidated house with an earthen floor, a tin roof and tin walls. He lives there with his wife and two children. There is a cooking area in one corner of the house. The toilet is shared, located some distance away.
A total of 47 families live in Rabidas Polli. Even holding onto this settlement required an uphill battle. Sukumar explains that they once lived on their own registered land in Haji Shariatullah Bazar. In 1965, the government acquired that land and relocated them here. Some portions of this land fell under government records. According to Sukumar, an eviction drive in 2012 demolished 13 houses, including his own, without offering any rehabilitation. "Yet, we didn't abandon the land," he says. "We gritted our teeth and stayed put. After filing a case and going through legal proceedings, we secured the right to live here through the district judge’s court."
Sukumar longs to break free from the poverty and deprivation endured across generations. He believes that only the government can truly step in and stand beside them.
Staying up late for the joy of making shoes
Despite all the hardship, Sukumar genuinely loves his work. Making a new pair of shoes gives him pleasure. He says, "This work demands total focus. When I sit working at home, I lose track of time. Sometimes it is already one or two in the morning. There are times when I have no orders, yet I stay up late making shoes simply because I enjoy it. I do not even think about whether I will be able to sell them..."