The Shoeshine
by Sasthi Brata
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This story shows that no work is below one's dignity and that cooperation, positive thinking and creativity lead to success. An educated but jobless young man stands outside a Tea House in Connaught Circus, Delhi, with only five rupees and some loose change in his pocket, too poor even to afford a cup of coffee. A shoeshine boy, Shovan Lal, offers to polish his shoes. In the conversation the young man learns that Shovan Lal, on a good day, earns more than Ram Singh, a government clerk. This gives him an idea: why not become a shoeshine himself? Shovan Lal is shocked that an educated, university-going man would want to polish shoes 'on the pavement', but the young man has no money and needs work at once. Shovan Lal warns that there is a Shoeshines' Union and that an extra shoeshine means less earning for everyone. Yet, because the young man knows English and can help the Union with its correspondence with the authorities (who refuse them licences), the other shoeshines reluctantly agree to let him join. They even take up a collection, over seven rupees, to buy him a box and materials, so he can keep his five rupees for food. Their warmth and cooperation open a whole new world of hope for the young man.
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A jobless young man with five rupees
The narrator, an educated young man from Calcutta, stands outside the Tea House in Connaught Circus, unable to afford even a cup of coffee and a plate of potato chips. He has left home without sitting for his exams and is desperately looking for a job. A shoeshine boy walks up and offers, 'Cream and polish, sir?' The young man admits he cannot afford even four annas.
The shoeshine earns more than a clerk
As they talk, the young man learns that Shovan Lal, the shoeshine boy, earns about three rupees on a bad day and five or more on a good day. A quick calculation sends a shiver through him: this boy earns more than Ram Singh, a clerk in a government office. Here, at last, seems to be a solution. Hesitantly, the young man asks whether he too could polish shoes 'on the pavement, like you'.
Shovan Lal's disbelief
Shovan Lal bursts out laughing and refuses to believe the young man is serious. He himself had to leave school two years before matriculation; if he knew English he would surely sit in an office and be a sahib. Shoe-shining, he insists, is 'no job for an educated man'. But the young man explains that he has no friends in Delhi, has not finished his exams, and would earn less as a clerk than as a shoeshine. Reluctantly, Shovan Lal gives in, warning that there is a Shoeshines' Union and that one extra shoeshine means everyone earns a little less.
The Union's warm cooperation
At night the young man meets Shovan Lal's friends. The Union has trouble with the authorities, who refuse the shoeshines a licence, so their work is treated as illegal, like begging. Because the young man knows English and can help with their correspondence, the group reluctantly agrees to let him work with them. More than that, they take up a collection in a toffee tin, over seven rupees that evening, to buy him a box, brushes, cream and polish, so that he can keep his five rupees for food. The young man 'literally jumps for joy' and hugs Shovan Lal. Their large-heartedness fills him with hope and makes shoe-shining the most important goal of his life.