A Cobbler in Ooty

Last week I had been to Ooty, my hometown and a place that cannot be surpassed by any other. They say it has become congested and polluted, but to me it remains still a beautiful place with the air crisp to the extent that it hurts your lungs when you take a deep breath, green and cold. Winter has set in early there and weather was good to have drink beside the fireplace.

When I was there I had to repair my leather slippers, I gave it to the nearest cobbler. He was a old man and had very meager tools and essentials. He took sometime to repair them and did a very good job. I asked him what was the charges and he asked me to give four rupees, I was surprised and I was ready to give that old man about Rs.15/- and I offered him Rs.10/- and asked him to have some tea. He staunchly refused to take the tip and was adamant in giving me back the change. I reluctantly took the change and thanked him for the nice job.

Back to my friend's place I told him the whole episode and he told me the most improbable story of that old man...

This man lives with his sister and both of them happened to be single and they have a small place to live and this man makes enough money to buy rice (Rs.10), some vegetables (Rs.10/-) and the most funniest part (to me) was he needs Rs.12 for a small of brandy everyday. He never takes more money from people and gets angry if offered more than what he had asked.

The summary of this story is that there are some people who are happy with what little they have and their needs are so little. I found this man so interesting that I was wondering if the greed, the want for material things or creating wealth has never crossed his mind or did he resign to this lowly existence. But I concluded both has happened and he had the courage to accept his limitations and lead a quiet life. This incident made me think a lot and it struck a cord in me with a short story I read long back, I am not sure of the title or the author. But the gist of the story is like this...

There was an excellent German cobbler in London, who used to make handmade shoes which lasts for a longtime that the author found not much need for repair or go for a new one frequently. Then came the factory made shoes and the demand for the protagonist's shoes came down. The cobbler did not believe in the factory made shoes and did not accept the change. He insisted on making his own shoes to be sold in his shop. The things took for a worse turn and this cobbler died of hunger and poverty, which the author come to know very late to do anything.

In both the stories I could find a common link and that is what I call INTEGRITY and courage to go on with one's convictions.

It reminds me of Balzac's quote...

"Conviction brings a silent, indefinable beauty into faces made of the commonest human clay."

This is what I felt then and I thought courage is the foundation of integrity.

But I got confused again, I heard nothing but change is permanent. Oh my confusions goes on and on.