A Suitable Boy(106)

‘Of course,’ said Jagat Ram’s brother with a jovial grin. ‘But there’s more profit in what few others can do. It’s much better for us to make women’s shoes –’

‘Not necessarily,’ said Haresh, whipping out – to everyone’s, including Kedarnath’s, surprise – a set of paper patterns from his briefcase. ‘Now, Jagat Ram, tell me, are your workmen skilled enough to give me a shoe – also a brogue – based on these patterns?’

‘Yes,’ said Jagat Ram, almost without thinking.

‘Don’t say yes so quickly,’ said Haresh, though he was pleased by the ready and confident response. He too enjoyed taking up challenges as much as he enjoyed throwing them down.

Jagat Ram was looking at the patterns – they were for a size 7 winged brogue – with great interest. Just by looking at the flat pieces of thin cardboard that made up the patterns – the fine punched design, the shape of the toe, the vamp, the quarters – the whole shoe came to vivid, three-dimensional shape before his eyes.

‘Who is making these shoes?’ he asked, his forehead creased with curiosity. ‘They are somewhat different from the brogues you are wearing.’

‘We are, at CLFC. And if you do a good job, you may be too – for us.’

Jagat Ram, though clearly very surprised and interested by Haresh’s statement, did not say anything for a while in response, but continued to examine the patterns.

Pleased with the dramatic effect of his sudden production of the patterns, Haresh said: ‘Keep them. Look over them today. I can see that those lasts hanging there are non-standard, so I’ll send you a pair of size 7 standard lasts tomorrow. I’ve brought a couple of pairs to Brahmpur. Now then, apart from the lasts, what will you need? Let’s say, three square feet of leather, calf leather – let’s make that maroon as well –’

‘And lining leather,’ said Jagat Ram.

‘Right; suppose we say natural cow, also three square feet – I’ll get that from town.’

‘And leather for the sole and insole?’ asked Jagat Ram.

‘No, that’s readily available and not very expensive. You can manage that. I’ll give you twenty rupees to cover costs and time – and you can get the material for the heels yourself. I’ve brought a few counters and toe-puffs of decent quality – they are always a problem – and some thread; but they’re at the house where I’m staying.’

Kedarnath, though his eyes were closed, raised his eyebrows in admiration at this enterprising fellow who had had the foresight to think of all these details before he left on a brief out-of-town trip intended mainly for purchasing materials. He was, however, concerned that Jagat Ram might be taken over by Haresh and that he himself might be cut out. The mention of the Lovely Shoe Shop came back to worry him as well.

‘Now, if I came over tomorrow morning with these things,’ Haresh was saying, ‘when could you let me have the shoes?’

‘I think I could have them ready in five days,’ said Jagat Ram.

Haresh shook his head impatiently.

‘I can’t stay in town for five days just for a pair of shoes. How about three?’

‘I’ll have to leave them on the lasts for at least seventy-two hours,’ said Jagat Ram. ‘If you want me to make a pair of shoes which retain their shape, you know that that is a minimum.’

Now that both of them were standing up, he towered over Haresh. But Haresh, who had always treated his shortness with the irritation that befitted an inconvenient but psychologically insignificant fact, was not in the least overpowered. Besides, he was the one ordering the shoes.

‘Four.’

‘Well, if you send the leather to me tonight, so that we can start with the cutting first thing tomorrow morning –’

‘Done,’ said Haresh. ‘Four days. I’ll come over personally tomorrow with the other components to see how you’re getting on. Now we’d better go.’

‘One more thing strikes me, Haresh Sahib,’ said Jagat Ram, as they were leaving. ‘Ideally I’d like to have a sample of the shoe that you want me to reproduce.’

‘Yes,’ said Kedarnath with a smile. ‘Why aren’t you wearing a pair of brogues manufactured by your own company – instead of these English shoes? Take them off immediately, and I’ll have you carried back to the rickshaw.’ .

‘I’m afraid my feet have got used to these,’ said Haresh, returning the smile, though he knew as well as anyone that it was more his heart than his feet. He loved good clothes and he loved good shoes, and he felt bad that CLFC products did not achieve the international standards of quality that, both by instinct and by training, he so greatly admired.