Cobbler
Many people practice humble but useful professions. All such people play an important role in society. For instance, work of a street sweeper is very humble. The city would be a dirty place if he does not perform his duty. We should not hate or dislike him because of his job. However, the same is true for a cobbler.
A cobbler does a humble job. He makes an honest living by mending shoes. A poor cobbler sits at the corner of the footpath. He does his work and pulls out his livelihood. He mends shoes and chappals. While working, his hands become dirty and his thumbs get black. We should not make fun of him because of his black hands.
After working for many years, his condition does not change much. He becomes neither rich nor poor. He has fewer joys and more troubles in his life. Still, one always finds him doing his work with liking. He never expects any personal rewards from the customers.
Mostly he wears uneven half-white dhoti or a trouser and a banyan or a shirt. Many times his clothes are tight and have a few holes in it, but he does not care for his condition. He may put a turban or a loose-fitting cap on his head. His condition is so dejected that sometimes he has to wear his spectacles with the help of a thread twisted in an untidy way to his ears. A cobbler has many tools to repair the shoes and chappals. He has a tool to cut leather, meant the punching holes and a big strong needle to stitch the shoes. His other important belongings are a polish box, a piece of cloth, a shoe brush and a few used pieces of leather. While going home he places his belongings in a big wooden box. If the box is small, he may carry it with him, or may tie it overnight with iron chains.
He sits in the open. During summer and monsoon, he arranges for a small piece of cloth or a plastic sheet to get some protection from heat and rain. He eats his lunch at his working place. After having lunch, he takes some rest and then is back to his work until late evening.
A cobbler provides urgent and valuable service to many of his customers. Although his work is important, he charges very reasonable. At times, as he is too slow in his work, some customers go away without getting their shoes repaired.
A cobbler’s life is very simple and plain. As he grows old, he finds it difficult to mend shoes. Mostly no one shows sympathy towards him. No one expresses thankfulness by giving him tips. We should always be thankful to the cobbler for providing his valuable skills to society.
A certain dignity is there in all kinds of honest labour. We should not look down upon anyone because he does a humble job. Each labourer has his own dignity. We should respect the dignity of each human being. No man loses his dignity because he happens to do a poorly paid job. Thus, all of us must learn to respect the dignity of labour. We must learn to respect every person however, poor he may be. Our society will progress only when we have a right sense of values and no false pride.
