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A tightly-sewn tradition

A shoe shine girl? An unusual career for a woman, surely. But Ludhiana is choc-a-bloc with shoe shine girls from neighbouring Rajasthan who have been reared in the trade, says Tripat Kaur.

Ever heard of shoe shine girls? If the answer's no, then you should visit Ludhiana. Also known as the industrial capital of Punjab, this town is full of shoe shine girls -- near the inter-State bus stand, outside the railway station, at a roadside corner , in the local market, under a tree, almost everywhere.

What is interesting is that unlike usual cobblers, they do not repair shoes, but only polish them. ``We were taught this from the beginning and this is the only work we know. All the members of our village are involved in this work only,'' said Sangeeta, who sits near the bus stand. She, like many others in the city, belongs to Nagaur district of Rajasthan.

It is lack of job opportunities which forces them to come to Punjab where the labour force is dominated by poor migrants from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. ``There is nothing to do in our village; otherwise why would we come here? But business is g ood -- we earn around Rs. 20 to Rs. 30 every day, which is quite good. And some of us have even managed to build small houses here which would have been impossible back home,'' said Roopvati, whose daughter-in-law, Premvati and son are also involved in t his business. They belong to the Salasar village in Rajasthan.

Though these women feel they are prospering in the city, there are men who feel hesitant to get their shoes polished by a woman. ``I don't know about other States but women are respected in Punjab and the thought of putting my shoes in front of a woman t o polish is repelling. We are taught to respect a woman and can never imagine doing such a thing,'' said Gurbinder Sodhi. There are others who echo his thought.

However, the other side is that the women are never disturbed by miscreants. They claim never to have been harassed by the police or rowdy elements. ``Aisa to kabhi kuch nahin huwa (Nothing of that sort has ever happened),'' says Roopvati, ``However, the re are some men who prefer to get their shoes polished by men rather than by women. But it really doesn't matter since they are our men only. Most of the men cobblers in Ludhiana belong to Rajasthan as well,'' says Roopvati.

The surprising aspect is that very few of these women want to change their source of livelihood. ``This is the only thing we know and I don't want to do anything else. Everybody in our village does the same thing and both my children will also do the sam e business,'' said Sapna, whose two children, aged seven and five, do not go to school.

They do not even want to learn how to repair shoes which would be an obvious progression in their job and lead to a substantial increase in their income. Premvati echoes Sapna's viewpoint: ``I am very comfortable doing this job and I don't want to change my profession though I can easily do other things like the job of a maid servant. But first of all, this is our family and community profession and second, it is a very easy job. Moreover, we are earning well here, though there were problems in Rajastha n. I don't intend putting my children in school because it spoils them.''

What is striking about them is a phlegmatic and impassive existence with an unwillingness to grow above one's circumstances. ``It is a community profession and we can't leave it. Nobody has ever done it. We cannot even begin to think of doing something e lse for a livelihood,'' says Roopvati.

However, there are winds of change and there are a few voices who want to rebel against this tradition. ``I have been doing this from as long back as I can remember and I don't know if I can do something else. But I would definitely like to study. Tu pad ayegi mujhe? (Will you teach me how to read and write?),'' asks 15-year-old Sunita, with the enthusiasm of a teenager. Sitting all day outside the main bus stand of Ludhiana, her present life doesn't seem to hold much interest for her.

One hopes for the best for Sunita and the others like her who want to do away with this tradition. And also that the community makes attempts to broad-base within the profession and realise the value of at least a basic education. For the present, howeve r, the community's attitude to education and growth is hindering its growth. The tragedy is that these people do not even realise this.

Pic.: Sangeeta who plies her trade near the bus stand.