If you go to a religious centre in India, you'll usually see mendicants wearing wooden slippers. It is a substitute for leather shoes, because leather is considered impure. Wooden slippers are harder on the feet, and you need ultra-strong toe muscles like Superman, but hey - at least you feel virtuous. At Hanuman Mandir, I spotted a man making these slippers. So I hunkered down to see what he was doing.
He would make a neat hole in each slipper, and then he would hammer a little wooden peg into it as a toe-hold. Just like a stopper in a wine bottle!
I asked him if the peg would hold. In response he smiled and waved the bottle of Fevicol at me. But of course. I should have known he'd use Fevicol. Afterall, every carpenter in India uses Fevicol, and this is woodcraft, not shoemaking!
sounds interesting... i will visit hanuman mandir and try to spot this person... :D Happy blogging!
ReplyDeletesure, the fevicol would hold it in the sole of the sandal, but how on earth would it hold on to the foot with no straps? Can anyone walk in them?
ReplyDeleteFevicol. Interesting. I doubt it would last more than a couple of weeks of walking pilgrimage.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the price of these slippers???
ReplyDeleteWhere can you purchase these wooden slippers ?
ReplyDeleteI have wore these kinds of slippers .its called Khadau ..
ReplyDeleteDUring a ceremony called Vratbandh sanskar ,brahmins need to wear it.
to walk wearing these u need practise of around a week and then you can run wearing them .