While Bata shoe store was ubiquitous in later years, early Indian cobblers created all the footwear in East Africa. Every town had its lone cobbler family. The cobblers worked on the verandah of the front room of their shop-cum-home.
A flat square cushion on a 'guniya' a gunnysack on the floor was their seat to squat on. The leather crafting tools lay within easy reach as did an old battered aluminium sufuria, cooking pot, with water to soften the leather for cutting, stitching, smoothing, and a very smooth small black granite piece was at hand, to sharpen rapi the half moon leather cutting and trimming knives, and sui the hooked stitching needles.
Khili nails, hathodi hammers, dori stitching string and needles lay near an old tin that contained homemade blue coloured glue lye. A ball of min wax, was at hand to apply to the stitching needles for easy penetration of the leather.
A variety of leather rolls lay in a wooden chest nearby. A thick red covered ledger book that sat atop the chest was the order book.
Ichoo Mochi was one such cobbler. Ichoo the cobbler of Mwanza, in the then Tanganyika now Tanzania, was the town shoemaker.
To get any footwear, men's, women's, and children's one arrived at Ichoo's and after the, હું ખબર છે. આ હારો વરહાદ બહુ પડ્યો ને!'
'Aare what's the news? Aare the bugger rain is very heavy, no! Or else, some other local topic commented on, before the business commenced.
A discussion on the type of footwear one wanted ensued. In course of this general exchange of styles, type, and colour of leather, Ichoo, or his "aashishtent," assistant, rose from the squat, smoothed his greyed white pyjama pants and the untucked shirt, also quite grey from use, and disappeared in a room at the back.
A few minutes later, he emerged with a thick, very dog-eared shoe styles magazine, which had seen better days in some English shop. Used for always showed the, 'letesht eeshtaeel letesht," the latest styles, according to Ichoo.
From the description by the customer, Ichoo flipped the pages to find the closest match, and handed over the magazine. The customer looked at the picture, flipped more pages back and forth, and after the pros and cons of various styles were entered into, one was chosen, often with a few modifications by the customer.
Ichoo returned to his squat and opened the thick red covered ledger book. He turned to an empty double page, as the customer removed the shoes.
Ichoo’s book of customer names
First the right and then the left foot was placed on the ledger book, and both were traced on each page. The customer name and date, choice of design and leather, were entered in one corner of the page, and the price as well the delivery date written.
Foot outlines in Inchoo’s customers book. The name and year Rustomji. 1949. is on the top left page. Number 7 indicates the shoe size. Number 3 on the right page indicates foot arch height. 2.5.1949 on the right page is the date for collection, and at the bottom, Sh. 25.00 is the cost of the pair.
Some days later, at least three 'fitting' visits followed. During these, various kinks, tightness, or looseness, were noted next to the outlines of the two feet, and another fitting date given.
During the ensuing fitting visits the invariable, રૂસ્તમજી, જરા કાલે હાવજોને. આજે હારુ બહુ કામ છે.’
'Aare Rustomji, please come tomorrow, bugger today have many jobs,' was not uncommon.
The next day the fitting done, problems again noted in the ledger next to the foot patterns, and a new date for delivery entered.
The wise customer never went on the new nominated day, for he knew his Ichoo. Therefore, the customer arrived on a third or fourth day after the new date, and greeted with, 'અરે હાહેબ, હું થયું? તમે મોડા થયા છો. તમારા બૂટ તો તયાર છે!'
'Aare sahib, what happened? You are late. Your boots are ready.' The customer was never right.
After retrying the new pair satisfactorily, Ichoo wrapped it in old newspaper pages, tied with the stitching thread, the money received, and Rustomji carried home his new pair of hand-stitched shoes, until next Navroze, the Parsi New Year.
બુટ boot, and not shoes, was the generic Indian word for all footwear, except for 'eeshliper," slippers or 'sendl,' sandals. Many Nairobi residents will recall Pitamber Khoda on the old Government Road, a leading shoe maker and dealer.
Mombasa readers will recall two such shoemakers, at the side of the Regal Cinema building, off the then Salim Road, one I think was Parmar Shoe Maker.
Cobbler’s tools
The Author
The author, Kersi Rustomji, was born in Kampala, Uganda, in 1936. He spent his early childhood in Mwanza, Tanganyika, now Tanzania. As a child, he grew up with a man of Sukuma tribe, who mentored him in the magic of the wilderness, its flora, and fauna. Young Kersi explored not only the exciting wilderness around Mwanza, but even as mtoto, a young boy, he roamed far out of the town and befriended the rural people, and walked in the bush observing and viewing the wildlife that abounded in these areas. Their Sukuma tribesman domestic help Simba, from age four, mentored him. Indeed his indigenous friends told him, that he was a very strange, muhindi Indian boy.
'You are more African than Indian.' They said of him.
From age 11, he grew up in Kenya and was involved with wildlife even as a young boy, and walked the wilderness and parks. In the forty years he spent in Kenya, he was an ardent conservationist of the flora and fauna of the country. He was a very well-known figure on the
old Nairobi Mombasa road and from the Ukambani to Kibwezi, and coast, areas he tramped regularly for more than thirty years.
Kersi also was a very successful Scout and a Rover. After the completion of his epic 100 miles hike, he received the Silver Acorn, the highest award for a Rover.
Kersi had long and distinguished service as a teacher. At Likoni, a coastal town just off Mombasa Island in Kenya, he was well known, esteemed, and highly regarded, and known as 'Mwalimu Rusto' Teacher Rusto, by the local population.
His extensive experience and close encounters with wildlife and the indigenous people, has resulted in this very refreshing and entertaining tale of African animal stories, 'Zamani Sana' It is the 'Jungle Book' of East Africa.
Nearly a hundred illustrations and graphics are excellently woven in the Tales makes exciting as well as pleasant reading for the 8+ years old and for adults to read to their children, and Scouts and Guides as campfire yarns. It is also available as a file.
Kersi has also written a brief account of his people, The Parsi In Kenya, as a contribution to the Asian African Heritage Trust in Nairobi, Kenya.
A
very important and a major socio-cultural record of the Indian shop keepers, the dukawalas, Pioneer Indian Dukawalas of East Africa, to these Indian pioneers, who braved privation and hazards to establish trade in East Africa, is his much needed tribute them.
His autobiographical work, 'Jambo Paulo, Jambo Mykol, is fascinating reading. This work tells in vivid detail the real life story of an Indian mtoto, boy, growing up in Tanganyika, now Tanzania and Kenya. It is a rather unique work, as no other such work, by an East African Asian or Indian is known of. Kul Bhushan. Kenyan Editor, Author, Publisher, Freelance Journalist, Media Consultant to UNIDO in New Delhi. New Delhi. India. 1990.
Kersi Rustom wearing a cap of the Swahili people of Mombasa, Kenya.
Also created by Kersi Rustomji
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