Eating is an agricultural act - Wendell Berry

Thursday, January 03, 2008

cobbler

right opposite our apartment is this cobbler.
"what's the big deal" i can hear you thinking.

this guy is actually an artist. i mean a cobbler artist.
his work with footwear and leather works are nothing short of artistry.

and he has the flair of the artist too. casual, cool and completely confident in his cobblery.
and like with artists, you don't haggle.
his prices are well above the market average, but his work is in a league of its own. well worth it.

the story is relevant, as he is above 'dignity of labour', it is 'genius of labour'. there is a sense of pride in what he does, much more than anyone i know. much more...

2 comments:

Vanessa said...

hmm...interesting..
That reminds me of a bhelwala in vashi. We went there and he asked us to wait, had some preparations to make.
He picked up a large onion in one hand and a knife in the other. All i could see after that was finely chopped onion raining down. I could not even make out what he was doing with his hands....was so lightning fast...and the onion was as finely chopped as it could be.
The same thing came to mind then....this guy is an artist....

I said...bhaiyya mujhe aise pyaaj katna sikha do....he said koi badi baat nahi, 1-2 baar haath katega fir sikh jaoge.:-)

csm said...

that is quite canny.
i have also seen an onion chopping artist in vashi.
he had an egg-burji thela which operated late nights. simply the fastest hands.
artists are also high risk takers.