Learning it the hard way

Repair and reuse should be a way of life.
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We use to call him “Marathadi Maharaja” (emperor under the tree) in Tamil. His business was mending footwear and occasionally fixing a handbag. We don’t know how long he inhabited that hole but he had made himself pretty comfortable and contented with materials procured for free. His shelter was made of worn-out canvas and the flooring of cinema posters. Except the awl, knife and thread, the other materials he used were recycled from old shoes and worn-out sandals.

I used to go to him when my daughter’s school shoes or my footwear needed to be fixed. Whenever I tried to bargain with him, he used to talk high of the quality of the materials he used for the fix. “Sir, I am not like those pretenders, I use quality leather and rubber. See how I have waxed the thread, 10 people cannot break the twine,” he would say.

During one of my visits to him to get my recently acquired footwear fixed for a minor issue, he told me after a thorough inspection: “Sir, the top leather is of very high quality; So whenever the sole is worn out, don’t throw the upper part, instead give it to me. Within a year and a half, the sole broke. I remembered our emperor’s remark but instead of going to him, I went to a bigger shop to get the sole replaced. The footwear came back with a new sole, but they charged me a hefty sum. The new sole lasted a year and then it cracked. Now again I had the dilemma of giving the footwear to the emperor for free or go for resoling. I chose the latter. This time, the shop charged me even more saying that the sole will last me more than two years. Unfortunately, it did not even last a year and when I went back to the big shop, they said their guarantee is only for six months and nothing can be done.

I kicked myself for not handing over the upper to the emperor when the sole wore out the first time. It could have saved me money and effort. The emperor had taught me a valuable lesson that will be hard for me to forget.

george_sil@yahoo.com