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Waheeda Khan: How am I supposed to walk?", wailed my teenager, looking from me to the broken sandal. I groan inside as once again my purse will weigh less for a new sandal.
"Why new, can't you repair it?"--You may ask. Well we could, till a few months ago. There was this roadside bunk under the old Banyan tree, which since my childhood had been on the same spot with the same man. It seemed to me as if it read an imaginary board - " Anything wrong with your footwear? Just come here!!".
I used to always see him squatted in a corner of his tin cubicle surrounded by varieties of footwear. Men, women, students, rich or poor, all had their footwear under his trust. Not because he repaired them so well, but mostly because he never charged more than was necessary. Times changed; the cost of living soared with the mercury levels, but his rates always remained reasonable. But, Alas! Now the spot is completely bare. The bunk and the old, old huge Banyan tree, both are now gone. Reason - the urban development drive with the road widening project that has cost the lives of thousands of trees that had shaded this town since times unknown. No shade, now no man to repair our sandals. You either throw them away when broken or go to another supposed cobbler who will charge triple the rate and in turn give no assurance that the sandal will last for even a couple of months.
Not just me, I heard similar complaints from many acquaintances. So, with my kid standing embarrassed here on the road, I realised how the town must be missing this tiny, anonymous landmark that had once assured us a wobble free walk.I remember another case-
I live in a coastal town, sothe sea is part of our lives. Our usual out-door get-togethers or daily morning walks or yoga sessions, all may begin anywhere in the town but always end up at the beautiful beach which skirts the entire length of our town. So one day we, as usual go for an outing to the beach and surprise!!!No, not that the beach has suddenly changed to waterfall or that the sea has receded quite back or is at storm. Something is amiss which I cannot pinpoint at first. After an hour my kid looks up at me with the look which indicates that it is snacks time. So I start looking out for the pop-corn or ice-candy vendors. But strangely not one in site. Then I turn towards the direction where we usually have our snacks and drinks - and that''s when I realize the abnormality of the day''s beach-view. The stalls are all gone. The place has such a deserted look that my stomach starts growling even more.
The stalls with savories like pani-puri, shev-puri, pav-bhaji, gobi manchuri, hakka noodles, ice-creams, cold-drinks all are gone. A sea-shore outing without a culminating plate of shev-puri , for my kid is out of question. So again I think over that, since so many years we have been coming here, having our share of snacks and drinks, juices, ice-creams etc, but today when they are not in their place -the beach does not look complete. Its only when they are removed that we realize, how we take for granted everything that's usual for us. What I have been missing this day, are the usual sounds of stall-keepers luring their customers, crying out for all the raod-side delicacies which is a part of the cacaphony or rather music of the sea breeze and waves. I came to know that the stalls were removed because the beaches are to be kept clean. So now you want to eat, then go out of the beach area on the other side of the main road. But somehow the taste of what we eat now is different. We sit on plastic stools and tables instead of squatting on the sand; the vendors still cry out the same menu but its far away from the harmony of splashing and lapping waves.
We still go to the sea- shore yet our appetite is not so satisfying.I miss the sight of lighted stalls lined on the sandy shore and wonder if others too feel the same. Then a thought gets me worried. What if one fine day in a drive for modernisation they decide to take away the stalls altogether from anywhere near? I feel that these wheeled snack providers are the sites where the town converges irrespective of being rich, poor, child or adult. So minus these tinned mini cafes we will be once and for all divided into different age or economic groups. Hygienic or unhygienic I hope that what I fear never happens. These food bunks are part of our image of a sea-shore and without them it would be like a painting whose colours are somehow mismatched. Just imagine a sea shore without any vendors or stalls-- would we go for a family outing when we know that later we may have to end up in a four walled hotel? There would be budget issues too. The 'thela walah' as we call themare such an inseparable part our Indian normal lives that its difficult to imagine an Indian street without them. Imagine you are cooking and suddenly you realise that either green chilly or lemon is not in stock. What do you do? I am sure you ask your husband or kid or watchman to bring the things from the nearest stall on wheels(thela). So if this thela one day disappears, you may have to go to the nearest vegetable market for just some chillies which may be 1-2km away.The ting-ting-ting of the ice- candy or kulfi man even today reminds us of our childhood excitement to rush after him where the kids of the whole chawl or street used to meet.
But now the ting- ting is very rare and one day our grand children may never know the special innocence attached to the sound. I realise that these unreckoned trivial people are the necessities who may be missed onlywhen they cease to exist.Thinking of all these trivial incidents I remember the words- " Be like the salt whose presence may not be felt, but whose absence definitely will"
So, I acknowledge these salts of my town whose absence must cause so many problems or disappointments in the daily walks of its inhabitants. Comming back to the footwear problem- one day after many months, I hear "Mama look!!"
I turn towards the pointed finger and imagine my joy to see the familiar little shack of tin with the man surrounded by sandals and shoes sitting in his usual position, of course not in the same spot but at a turn a few paces ahead. Now, I am sure even my footwear are elated to see the sight.

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