Of Mochis

If you ever need something to be fixed, there will be an Indian who made himself some room by the side of a road or in some cramped corner, to fix or mend it.

We get our twenty odd year old grinder fixed time and again in a small shop overflowing with various parts of blenders, grinders and pressure cookers.  Need a knob changed? Fret not! There’s a whole box of old and new knobs, from which one might fit just right. A faulty grinder part will swiftly be exchanged while the shopkeeper keeps up a conversation with many people, switching effortlessly between different languages.

I am particularly fond of mochis*. They either sit on the pavement, or have a green box made for them and work wonders with shoes , whilst sitting in their characteristic mochi pose(I have tried sitting this way while fixing a shoe and I could feel the power of the mochis surging through me). They all have a set of common tools and material to help them. They swear by Fevi Quick, a heavy duty adhesive, and can fix any sole by dabbing some of it with a wedge shaped stone and then mildly hammering at it with another stone that has a flat circular base. Torn straps, toe loops that have detached themselves from the sole are all expertly fixed with needle and thread. They even make shoes.
If you take your shoes to the mochi to get them mended, they usually give it an all round check up and reinforce some old stitches. And they do all this just for about Rs. 30.  People getting their shoes fixed sometimes squat next close by and talk of this and that. Last week, a lady at the mochi was telling him at great length of various incidents with her relatives and pausing to ask, ‘is that not right?!’ To which he would shake his head in agreement and part with wise words.
I often see people who sit and while away time with a mochi while he fixes shoes.

mochi: cobbler in Hindi.