Two stories from Mumbai, showing us the changing face of India:
1. A boot-polisher working at a Mumbai train station, is contesting this month’s parliamentary elections. Declaring assets worth about Rs 6 lakhs and a railway engine as his election logo, Ramsingh Shiras says he wants to become a member of India’s parliament for at least one time in a lifetime.
Surely a small goal for many of the incumbents running for seats this year, some of them have already had the privilege to be parliamentarians several times over. But an improbable goal for Ramsingh Shiras, who is hardly a shoo-in in the elections. He’s competing with two lifelong politicians - one of them an incumbent who inherited his father’s seat, and the other a 30-year veteran of local politics.
That’s a pity. And Ramsingh Shiras may not get the chance to polish the dirty, dusty image of today’s parliamentarians. If you happen to be by the Kalyan railway station during the next few weeks, take some time to walk by his space on the planet and speak to him about his vision document. And if you are one of the other two candidates, just be aware that this shoe-polisher would love to be in your shoes.
2. A Mumbai cobbler is aiming big with the smallest car. Maruti Bhandare, a suburban shoe-mender, made a one and half lakh rupees deposit at a local car dealership, booking India’s newest and smallest car - the Nano. Maruti made the giant leap from cobbling to car-ownership on the auspicious occasion of the birth anniversary of Lord Hanuman - the monkey God who is also known as ‘Maruti’, incidentally the name shared by India’s first wonder car in the 1980s.
A cobbler owning a car may not mean much in the west, but is still a novelty on this side of the planet. What’s more amazing is that Maruti hasn’t sought any financing to make this dream a reality. He is paying hard-earned sweaty cash for his new car.
Immediately after his birth, Lord Hanuman is said to have made a giant leap, lunging at the Sun God. It has taken Maruti Bhandare 42 years of his life and 2 years of hard work to lunge at the Nano, which unfortunately, isn’t a solar-powered car yet, but will still be a lifetime dream coming true for a cobbler who is showing the courage to dream bigger than the size of his shoes.
Two stories from Mumbai, showing us how India’s shoes are getting bigger.
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