Meet Patna's 'Dr. Shoemaker'

Patna, Oct.22 : Many residents in Patna enjoy addressing a cobbler as 'Doctor', for he is quite popular for his expertise in mending all types of footwear.

Many of his customers say that he handles shoes like a surgeon handles a human body.

Doman Das, in his mid-fifties, is adept at handling all kinds of footwear related problems. is shop attracts attention due to its unusual name 'Shoe Clinic'.

Apart from mending footwear, 'Dr.' Doman Das is also known for making best quality shoes. He has been into this profession for last 40 years. He prepares shoes as per client's desire and requirement.

"We call him by that name (Dr. Doman Das) because he makes shoes only after examining our feet properly so that it suits us well and we don't end up having any foot problem. His shoes provide quality satisfaction to the customers as compared to other branded shoes," said Jeetu Kumar, one customer.

Das says that he started his career as a teenager with a shoe-polish box and grew up as a shoe-shine boy. It was later that he started designing shoes.

Every day he makes around a dozen footwear and these include sandals, slippers and shoes of all shapes and sizes. Besides, he also accepts shoes for mending and resoling.

Doman Das has a good knowledge about shoes and problems related to them.

Having realised this asset in him, people in the neighbourhood as well as from far and near have become his regular customers.

With a chuckle he admits that he is happy at being referred as Dr. Doman Das!

"I treat a shoe just like a doctor treats a human being. I want people to feel comfortable in my shoes. Besides, when I sell my shoes, I give a guarantee of one and a half months and give a discount of rupees 100 for the students," said Doman Das, the shoemaker.

He also claims to cure any foot disease with the help of shoes! By Ajay Kumar

ANI