J Parthiban is among the last shoemakers of Kamarajapuram in Coimbatore who continue to make footwear by hand. He is also known for making leather bags used by bus conductors. Shot on OnePlus #FramesofIndia
| Photo Credit: PERIASAMY M

J Parthiban is mending a pair of sandals with meditative attention. He never looks up — neither the blare of traffic on Mettupalayam Road nor his grey cat that ambles restlessly about his tiny workshop —  wavers his focus. As among the last shoemakers in Kamarajapuram, he and his fellow craftsmen were once sought-after in the city and beyond. “Not any more,” he says bitterly.

The 52-year-old from the neighbourhood remembers the entire stretch being lined with around 15 shops that sold footwear in the early 90s. “There were 200 members in the chappal thozhilalar sangam in the 1980s,” he says, pointing to the closely-knit houses at Kamarajapuram nearby, “Apart from the shops, several men would hand-stitch footwear from home too. It was a full-fledged cottage industry.”

Handmade footwear and bags for conductors on sale at Kamarajapuram
| Photo Credit:
PERIASAMY M

A little across the street, E Bharathan mends footwear in his small shop. “Coimbatore once used to be a hub for hand-made slippers,” he says. “We would buy leather from agents in the city who sourced it from Vinnamangalam near Ambur.” These men were experts at creating custom-made footwear. “I can make slippers of the perfect size by merely looking at a pair of feet,” says Bharathan.

Shoemaker J Murugesh works out of a workshop at his home in Kamarajapuram in Coimbatore, making footwear. He supplies to wholesale shops in the city and has been in the field for 30 years.
| Photo Credit:
PERIASAMY M

They rolled out several trend-setters: such as the Padagotti-style leather slip-ons with a curved tip in the front, sleek slippers that gave off a crisp ‘tik-tok’ sound with every step the walker took, slippers with sequins embroidered on them. “But we couldn’t compete against machine-made products that started filling the market some 15 years ago,” says Bharathan.

He adds that customers would stop by to give their feet measurements and would even pick the design themselves, sometimes sketching it for him. “I will create the exact pattern for them,” he says, as he sticks a piece of Velcro on a customer’s old pair of sandals.

Bags for conductors

Parthiban adds that the cost of raw materials almost doubled over the past decade, forcing a lot of shoemakers into other lines of work. “Most of us are now auto-drivers and daily-wagers,” he says. During their good days, the men would regularly supply footwear to wholesalers at Town Hall, apart from selling at their own shops.

Jaganathan, his father, was always ahead of his time. “He started making leather shoulder bags for bus conductors,” he says. Today, it is among his best sellers, and Parthiban continues to get enquiries for the bags that will also make for trendy handbags. The youngest son in a family with 12 children, he joined his father at his shop when he was in his teens, and continues to run it.

Footwear for sale at Kamarajapuram in Coimbatore
| Photo Credit:
PERIASAMY M

“There was a time when we employed four men to work at our shop. Our footwear were sold in Chennai, Erode, and Salem,” says Parthiban, adding that Covid wiped out even the handful of shops that managed to keep their heads above the water. With the emergence of large enterprises powered by advertising, he wonders if people have the time and inclination to appreciate something that is hand-made.

S Shiva, who mends footwear at a rented facility in Kamarajapuram, says that their designs are simple, but the end product, hardy. “A pair would easily last two years,” says the 52-year-old. He points to an old pair of slippers he made for a farm worker. “I made thick soles so that thorns do not cut through,” he points out. This attention to detail is what sets these men apart.

Shiva mends footwear for several major shops in the city. “They send them over, and I get a small portion from what the showroom bills the customer,” he says.

J Murugesh continues to make footwear at his workshop in the locality, that he supplies to wholesalers. The 55-year-old says that Kamarajapuram had the manpower and skill to turn into the Kolhapur of the South. “But it was not to be,” he says.

Kamarajapuram is located on Mettupalayam Road, diagonally opposite to Brookefields mall.