The Righteous Cobbler

Sanjiv Nair

 

“Whether you have very little, or you are well-off,

God requires righteousness with what you have”

 

Kabilchand was running the tight, waxed thread in and out of the sole of the sophisticated lady footwear of pure leather, firmly held between the heels of his clapped feet. While he was engrossed on the job, a middle-aged man came and placed the right foot on the anvil with his shoes on. He puffed out smoke from the cigarette caught between his seared lips that irritated Kabilchand’s feeble lungs, and he started coughing. What an arrogant man, he has no manners. Kabilchand’s momentary glance on his shoes was enough to ascertain his character. His shoes were very old and in terrible shape. The top thin layer of the leather had peeled off from several places and was worn out carrying crack marks all over it.

Kabilchand would’ve admonished him for his unpleasant behavior. However, he kept working, piercing the sharp awl into the sole with his left hand while his right hand fed the thread into its mouth, which he pulled out to the surface of the sole. Finally, the separated sole was stitched together along the borders of the footwear.

‘How much you earn after working the entire day?’ The man asked rudely, removing the shoes awkwardly from his feet by shaking his legs in turn. One of the shoes hit Kabilchand’s chest who gave a look of displeasure to the man who spread his arms and frowned. This is not a way to apologize. Kabilchand thought. He was annoyed but kept his cool. He didn’t wish to insult his customer. It was an everyday affair for him.  

‘The question is not how much I earn but how righteously I earn working honestly with dedication and precision.’ Kabilchand said, picking up the shoes, then look at them closely without looking up at the man.

‘Would you like to work in a large manufacturing unit where mostly leather shoes are made? You can earn more,’ the man asked, throwing the cigarette on the ground and stamping his feet over it awkwardly.

‘I’m content with whatever I earn and it is sufficient for me and my family. I’ve been working at this place for 20 years now. I’ve worked in a shoe manufacturing company for 10 years. I was exploited more and paid less. I left the company. I earned more working independently. You want me to return to the same position and situation to be exploited again,’ Kabilchand replied calmly.

The man was rendered speechless, but was not ready to concede defeat easily. He shot another question at Kabilchand, ‘Don’t you wish to earn a stable income and more than what you earn now?’

‘Whether you have very little, or you are well-off, God requires righteousness with what you have.’

‘You can’t survive walking on the path of righteousness,’ the man argued.

‘That means you’re following the wicked path?’ Kabilchand shot back.

‘You mean, I’m a wicked man,’ the man said angrily with both his hands on the hips.

‘Your acts will decide that. I talk of righteousness and you want me to deviate from my path. A man will share only what he possesses. To my understanding, you don’t wear the shoes, but the shoes wear you. You and your shoes have great resemblance,’ Kabilchand concluded with a satirical comment as he handed over the shoes to the man after the repairs.

The man failed to match Kabilchand’s wisdom. He put on the shoes and said, ‘How do you define righteousness?’

Kabilchand tried to enlighten the man by quoting Jesus. He said, “He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. Therefore, if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon (earthly matters) who will commit to your trust in true riches? And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own? Nearly three thousand years ago Solomon wrote these words: God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes.”

The man looked at him with surprise. He never thought that a cobbler could have such wisdom. He slowly pulled out his purse from his back trouser pocket.

‘How much?’ The man asked, jerking his chin upwards before pulling out the money from the brown withered purse.

‘Ninety rupees.’

‘You’re charging too much for a small job,’ the man said twitching his lips.

‘You decide the job and I decide the labor. I replaced the leather on your right shoe. My charges are justified,’ a momentary smile appeared on Kabilchand’s face and vanished.

The man handed a hundred-rupee note to Kabilchand who started searching his pockets for the change. The man observed him closely as Kabilchand stood up holding the hundred-rupee note from both ends.

‘I’ve no change. I’ll get the change for you.’

‘You can keep the change.’

‘No. I take only what I righteously earn. Not any less or more.’ Kabilchand had already scampered to the other side of the road to fetch the change. He came back, still counting the notes. He handed a ten-rupee note to the man.

‘You impress me,’ he said, putting the note into the purse and walked away, looking down at his shoes at every step. 

Kabilchand was least impressed with the man, particularly his unpleasant behavior. 

Soon after the unpleasant episode of the afternoon, a very sophisticated woman parked her car in front of Kabilchand’s makeshift shop. She got out and confronted him.

‘Who has brought these brown pair of footwear here for repairs?’ She pointed at the sophisticated brown pure leather lady footwear and asked politely.

Kabilchand looked at her for a few seconds and then turned around and picked up the sandals. He raised it before her and said, ‘You mean this pair of sandals, madam.’

‘Yes. This was stolen yesterday from the nearby Gauri Shankar temple when I went to offer my prayers. I’m Aparna and my husband Madhavan is your regular customer.’

‘Yes, yes…I remember him, madam. He has taught me a lot of things that has benefited me greatly,’ he said excitedly.

‘Who brought these sandals here? Was it a man or woman?’ 

‘A good looking young woman came in the afternoon and left them here for repairs. If you wish, you can take them with you. The right sole had come off. I’ve fixed it,’ Kabilchand said regretfully.

‘No, that will not be fair with you. Let her have them. She needs them more than me,’ she said with a smile.

‘I’ll not let her take them away. She has stolen it. I’ll tell her that you were here. I’ll hold her when she comes to take them. I’ll inform you. You can teach her a good lesson.’

‘You’re not going to do any such thing. There must be some good reason behind her act. However, I’ll pay for the repairs. You’ll not take any money from her,’ Aparna said, thrusting a hundred-rupee note towards Kabilchand.  

‘I can’t accept the money from you. The woman must pay for the repairs. I’ll earn but in a righteous manner.’

‘Since the pair of sandals belongs to me, I’m the right person to pay for the repairs. Don’t argue and take the money,’ she quickly handed over the money to him and drove away in her car in a happy mood.

Strange things are happening with me today. Kabilchand thought as he pocketed the money. He waited for the young woman to come and collect the sandals. After two hours of impatient wait, he saw the young woman approaching his shop. He looked at her feet. She was wearing a similar pair of brown leather sandals that he had repaired in the afternoon. Kabilchand looked at her feet and then at the sandals kept inside his shop. They were of similar make and of the same brand. He was terribly confused. He decided to unravel the mystery. She is a decent woman and doesn’t look like a crook.

‘Are the sandals ready?’ The young woman asked in a polite voice. 

‘Yes, madam. You can take them.’

The young, graceful woman opened her big handbag to take out the money.

‘How much I’ve to pay?’

‘You needn’t pay for such a simple job. You’re like my daughter. You can pay next time when you bring some other footwear for repairs.’

She thought for a while, looked at him and then slowly took her hand out of her handbag. She took the shopping bag with the sandals, thanked him and left. He immediately started following her. She was heading towards the direction of the Gauri Shankar temple, which was hardly 200 metres away from his shop. To his surprise, the young woman went to the place where people had taken off their footwear outside the temple. She took out the pair of sandals and placed them at a safe spot. She then went to the female guard and said something to her pointing at the pair of sandals. She then faced the temple, closed her eyes, prayed briefly and left the place hurriedly.

Kabilchand was very confused and he looked at the direction of the temple as if pleading to God for an answer to the mystery. The strange occurrences of the day had baffled him. He sat down on the steps close to the spot where the young woman had kept the sandals. Slowly, his eyes closed and he had fallen asleep on the steps. A few minutes after, he felt a little jerk on his right shoulder and he sat up and opened his eyes. He saw Madhavan’s wife Aparna standing in front of him holding the pair of sandals in her left hand.

‘Madam, how come you are here?’ Kabilchand asked in surprise.

‘The female guard here knows me very well. She used to work at our place before she joined the private security agency. She called and informed me that a young woman had left a pair of sandals that was mistakenly taken away by her yesterday. The young woman who brought the sandals to you for repairs is Madhurima Sethi, an IPS officer and she takes away the sandals of an IAS officer,’ said Aparna with a little laugh. ‘She had visited the temple yesterday and had removed her sandals in the car. When she came back, her eyes fell on my sandals and she thought she had been wearing it. Sandals being of the same make and brand confused her.’

‘She should’ve confirmed her doubt before putting on your sandals and driving away,’ said Kabilchand dejectedly.

‘She realized her mistake after reaching home. She wanted to bring them back here, but when she saw the sole had come off, she decided to get them repaired. While passing by, my eyes fell on the sandals in your shop. I recognized them instantly when I took a closer look. I thought my husband had brought them to you for repairs. I ruled out this possibility since I’d worn them to the temple and lost them there. That’s how you fit into the story. Madhurima Sethi narrated the whole thing to the female guard here. Besides, I knew you would follow her to the temple to unravel the mystery.’ Aparna looked at Kabilchand who nodded in admittance.

‘What a perfect ending to the mystery, madam! Everything happened naturally. Some woman takes away your sandals and gets them repaired. She doesn’t have to pay for the repairs. You come and pay the charges, being the rightful owner. Surprisingly, you refuse to take your sandals back from my custody on moral grounds. However, you get your sandals back from the same place where you left them. I’m fortunate to have witnessed such a beautiful occurrence in my lifetime.’ Kabilchand was excited.

‘You always wanted to earn in a righteous manner. Your principles have also been taken care of by Nature,’ she said with a hearty laugh with Kabilchand giving her good company.

‘God requires righteousness with what you have,’ said Kabilchand. ‘You got what belonged to you, madam. According to Jesus, if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own.’

‘You’ve summed up everything so beautifully, Kabilchand,’ said Aparna amusingly. ‘Wisdom walks to you in the guise of footwear.’ 

Kabilchand said shyly, ‘No teaching ever goes waste, and what I learned from Madhavan Sir a few days back, was put to test today.’ 

Kedarnath sat impatiently on the swivel chair, in his sprawling office waiting for his manager Keshavdas. He prepared to leave, but a soft knock on the door prevented him. It was a signal from his peon announcing the arrival of Keshavdas. The peon knocked differently for all important people in the organization who came to meet Kedarnath in his office. Kedarnath would instantly know who it was with every knock that characteristically described the person outside the door.

Keshavdas entered the office and bowed to his boss in respect. Kedarnath with a wave of his hand signaled him to take the chair.

‘Did you find a righteous person to work as Supervisor?’ Kedarnath asked even before Keshavdas had transferred himself on the chair.

Keshavdas quickly gathered some breath before saying, ‘I came across hundreds of people with great qualifications, but none came close to the parameters you suggested. They all lack the vision that you envisage for your organization. However, I found out a person who possesses no qualifications, but is extremely righteous in everything he does. I’m very much impressed by his unassuming approach to life.’

‘High moral character is my first preference in every human being. I appreciate your huge efforts in finding good people to work in our organization. I’ll definitely wish to meet your choice. Can you summon him here tomorrow for a brief interaction?’

‘He is a principled man and it would be difficult to convince him. However, I’ll try my best to bring him here. He has already outwitted me once with his wisdom.’

Keshavdas pulled out the leather shoes from the cloth bag that had been repaired by Kabilchand. Kedarnath held them and scrutinized from every angle. He then leaned forward on the huge mahogany table and said, ‘He is highly skilled and his stitches are uniform and perfectly done. We don’t have a match for him in our entire unit. We must have this man if we wish to improve our quality,’ he paused for a few seconds and asked again, ‘Did you disclose your true identity to him?’

‘No Sir, I met him as an irksome customer. I even threw up a shoe at him during the act of removing it awkwardly from my feet. He was a little displeased, but kept his cool. He is very tolerant and patient. I was following your instructions and had to improvise a little in changing situations,’ said Keshavdas with caution.

‘Excellent. I understand how you employ different tactics to tackle difficult people into submission,’ Kedarnath said with a chuckle. ‘Keshavdas, you’re very valuable to my organization, which runs entirely on your directions.’

Kabilchand couldn’t recognize Keshavdas when he confronted him again. The latter was wearing a black shirt and a well-tailored gray suit and Kabilchand took him as rich gentleman. His eyes fell on his fine leather Bata shoes that threw a glint in the glowing sun. Obviously, his concern is not footwear and he wondered what business this gentleman had with him. Before Kabilchand could inquire the purpose of his visit, Keshavdas introduced himself.

‘I’m Keshavdas, manager of New Generation Footwear Pvt. Ltd. I met you yesterday in a different attire covering up my real identity. I annoyed you with my deceitful and disdainful behavior. I regret and apologize for irritating you with my awkward manner, particularly for hitting you with my shoe. I didn’t wish to humiliate you in any manner. It was an overzealous act.’

‘You must have committed all that under some compulsion. I can understand that and every deed is performed with a purpose. You too must’ve had a genuine purpose behind your actions.’  

‘Very well said, I conducted myself badly for some reasons. I was following certain instructions of my boss,’ he said and tried to clasp Kabilchand’s soiled hands that were stained with black p0lish. 

‘Sir, my hands are dirty. I’ll wash them and come,’ Kabilchand said and moved away.

Kabilchand came and hurriedly put a clean white sheet over the wooden chest in which he kept the repaired footwear. Keshavdas sat over it comfortably while Kabilchand squatted on the working mat with hands folded around his knees.

Keshavdas began the conversation on a cautious note. He must arrange Kabilchand’s meeting with Kedarnath at any cost.

‘I told my boss Mr. Kedarnath about you. I briefed him about your preferences and how you stick to the path of righteousness with what you have and what you earn. He is very much impressed with your high moral character. He wishes to meet you urgently. You can frankly outpour your ideas or doubts to him without any fear. There is no harm in meeting a celebrated footwear magnate of the country. You should consider yourself fortunate to receive his personal attention,’ Keshavdas looked at Kabilchand to see his reaction.

Kabilchand thought for a while and said, ‘How can I defy the interests of an illustrious person and show my arrogance. I’m a humble person and feel blessed to attract respect from him. It will be my privilege to meet him.’    

‘Thanks Kabilchand. You’ve taken a huge burden off me. I’ll inform my boss that you’ve agreed for the meeting. He will be very pleased to meet you. I’ll send the car tomorrow to pick you up,’ Keshavdas was delighted and he held Kabilchand’s hands for a long while before he left.

Kabilchand’s eyes were filled with tears after getting such a reception for his righteousness.   

Kabilchand chose to wear a cream colored, silky Kurta-Pyjama on the day of the meeting with footwear magnate Kedarnath. The light color contrasted his dark, tanned skin. He wore a brown leather sandal to complement his attire. He felt important in the present attire than on other days. Normally while at work, he wore a shabby T-Shirt and pyjama, which was torn at several places. He liked these little changes he had made to himself. 

Kabilchand was escorted by Keshavdas to the office of Kedarnath who received him with great warmth.

Kedarnath asked Kabilchand straightaway, ‘You’ve been shown around our manufacturing unit and I hope you must’ve liked the work environment. I wish you to work as a Supervisor in our unit. The entire unit will work under your guidance. However, you’ll get technical support for quality management.’

It became difficult for Kabilchand to decide while Kedarnath patiently waited for his response. Kedarnath understood his discomfort and said, ‘You’re filled with insecurity. I know you depend on your daily earning. Don’t worry, you’ll be paid for the professional time you’ve spent with us today. Now tell me, how do you like to be paid for your work?’

‘I’ve a condition if I decide to work here.’ Kabilchand said nervously.

‘What is your condition? We will abide by it,’ Kedarnath said with a smile.

‘I’ll decide my own salary based on the job I do.’

‘It is not a big deal. We pay for your righteousness instead of the job you do. I believe that your own righteous quality brings quality in whatever activity you perform,’ said Kedarnath. ‘You can start from tomorrow or a day after as you wish.’

Before leaving the office of Kedarnath, his manager Keshavdas handed Kabilchand an envelope with some money. Kabilchand peeled off the tape and started to open the envelope.

Keshavdas said, ‘You can take it home and open it. It is all yours.’

But Kabilchand insisted on opening the envelope in the presence of Kedarnath. He pulled out the money and counted twenty notes in hundred-rupee denomination. He took only two hundred rupees and put the rest back in the envelope.

‘This is my average daily earning…righteous earning,’ said Kabilchand showing the notes to Kedarnath as he handed over the envelope to Keshavdas.

‘You can keep the rest as advance money,’ Keshavdas suggested.

‘No. I can’t take what doesn’t belong to me. God requires righteousness with what you have.’

Kedarnath with a wave of his hand prevented Keshavdas from persisting with Kabilchand any further. He didn’t wish to lose such an honest man.   

Kabilchand soon became very popular with the workers who also started following his principle of ‘righteous earning’. Keshavdas had fixed his monthly salary at twenty-five thousand rupees but he never took home that much money. He decided his earning of the day, according to the quality of the job he completed. On an average, Kabilchand was earning the same amount of money he earned previously by doing his own work.

When Keshavdas estimated Kabilchand's earning for over a period of six months, the average earning was a little above six thousand rupees. He reported the matter to Kedarnath who was equally concerned. 

‘Have we made a mistake by bringing Kabilchand to work here with us? Is he happy working here? Kedarnath asked.

‘I can’t say, but I’ve always found him in a cheerful mood. I talked to him several times about his job as a supervisor. He says that he is being paid for doing nothing. Everybody was working to their full potential and he just roams about to pry over their activities. There is another development, which will surprise you. Many workers have started sacrificing a part of their salary–they think that their quality of performance had fallen. I would call this as ‘Kabilchand effect’.’

‘Has this affected our footwear quality compared to previous years?’

‘Not at all Sir. We have improved our quality to a large extent compared to previous years and our footwear is doing well in the market. Our annual earning has registered a huge profit and the workers would be paid extra dividends this month along with the salary. I fear Kabilchand will not accept the dividend. His logic will be ‘why should I take the share from others earning? According to his viewpoint, it will not be a justified or ‘righteous earning’.’

Kedarnath placed a suggestion, ‘Kabilchand is a skilled worker. Why don’t you engage him for stitching the upper for leather shoes? He wants to work with his hands. Through this arrangement, he would be able to take home a decent salary. Besides, he’ll not feel guilty of doing nothing.’

‘Yes. This will be a good idea. I’ll immediately shift him to the stitching department. He will do an excellent job there and we will see major improvement in quality too.’

Keshavdas shifted Kabilchand to the stitching department and he felt immensely happy. He worked very hard and finished stitching uppers for leather shoes more than anybody in the department. The production increased by fifty percent and quality also improved than earlier.

Kedarnath was very happy for Kabilchand who started taking home a decent salary every month. He started earning more than thirty thousand rupees in a month as an average income. He had bought a decent house after two years by saving enough money. He had refused to move to the house provided by the company. He also distributed the dividend money among the fellow workers.   

Keshavdas asked Kabilchand, ‘I agree with your principle of righteous earning. What about others to whom you distribute the dividend money? How do you justify their earning that is yours? Is that righteous earning for them?’

‘The dividend is earned by collaborative efforts of all the workers. My individual contribution towards dividend is very small but collectively it makes a large amount. So, I keep my share of dividend and distribute the rest to others. They get what is theirs and I get what is mine. I hope you still remember what I said to you during my first meeting with you -  if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own?