[THE FANTASTIC SHOEMAKER] UNIT:09

Pre-Reading:

•  What are the things that you should keep in mind before buying shoes?
• What kind of shoes do you like?
• Where do you buy your shoes from? 

Reading:

              I first met him in my youthful days in the holy month of Ramadan,when my father took me to his shop for ordering a pair of new shoes for the coming Eid. His shop was in a small but busy street of Qisa Khawani Bazar. A monstrous size black "Peshawari Chappal" overhang on the faint coloured wooden door of his shop . The inside of the shop was as quiet and serene as that of a sacred holy place. There were some old wooden stools and in the window some pairs of shoes were visible. A big smooth square shaped stone, a heavy wooden mallet,an awl and three legged anvil ,can be observed in the right side of the shop. The rest of the shop was as barren as desert because he made only those pairs of shoes that were ordered. At the far end of wall of the shop was hanging a small sign board,showing Zarin Gul & Brothers. 

The shoes that Zarin Gul made never failed to fit in the feet and they lasted extraordinarily longer than usual. To make shoes- such shoes as he made - seemed to me then and seems to me now,mysterious and wonderful. I still remember my hesitant remarks,while stretching out to him my youthful foot . "Isn't it awfully hard to make shoes In such tough conditions? "The serpentine wrinkles wriggled on his smiling face and he answered,"it is an art".

Zarin Gul remarks about shoes making and their suitability to different people were so authoritative and final that nobody dared reject them. My father,though chieftain of the area ,would accept his views about a particular pair of shoes with brisk nod.

It was not possible to go to him often because there was something in his shoes that was beyond that temporary. It would not be wrong to say that durability was stitched into them . I cannot forget that day on which I had to say to him,"Zarin Gul kaka,my past pair of shoes makes a creaking sound,you know". He looked at me with strange looks as expecting me to withdraw the statements and then said," it should not have creaked"."it didn't,I am afraid",I said with quivering tone. At that he lowered his eyes,as if hunting for the memory of those pair of shoes . I really felt sorry that I mentioned this pretty thing , which looked to him so serious and grave."Send them back,"he said,"I will look at them"." Some shoes are bad from birth . If I can do nothing with them , I will give back the amount you paid for them".

Then i went to pursue my higher studies and career and could not have the opportunity to meet zarin gul,the fantastic shoe-maker for several years.

After several years i returned to peshawar.And the first shop i went to was my old friend ,zarin gul . i had left  man of fifty ;i came back to of sixty five ,worn and torn like an overused pair of shoes....