India is not easy on shoes.

Due to my daily routine in India of walking around, jumping from sidewalk to sidewalk while avoiding rowdy vehicles and frequently stepping in piles of trash, my shoes took a serious beating.

Fix-it-men cobblers are everywhere in India, patiently waiting for work.

In Nairobi they’re called jua kali’s.

They’re the guys (or gals) that can fix anything and everything somehow (quality is often questionable – but the job will get done).

In India jua kali cobblers will fix your, whatever you need fixed.

The sole of my Solomon XT Wings was ripping from shoe; My right shoe was about to start flopping.

So while I was in Dimapur, Nagaland, I stopped at the nearest cobbler.

Walking up to him he had already noticed my problem.

“Can you fix this I asked?”

I received a response that you’ll inevitably get accustomed to when you visit India (or Sri Lanka): the smile-less side-to-side head bobble which usually means “yes-alright, no problem, sure.”

First, you’ll sit down on whatever it is the cobbler provides as a seat – could be a stool, a stump, a ledge, or a wooden crate as I was provided.

He’ll then remove your shoes and place your feet into a communal pair of flip flops for the wait.

Depending on whatever footwear task you need accomplished, you’ll just hang out as he does his thing – and believe me, whatever problem you have with your shoes, he’ll be able to surely make them better or last a little longer.

In my case, since my sole was beginning to fall off, he grabbed a string and a sharp device and started sewing the string through the sole of my shoes and into the body of my shoes.

He sewed the string around the entire circumference of my sole and shoe, and did the same for my left shoe (which needed repairing soon too).

After the sewing was complete, the cobbler proceeded to polish my shoes until they looked nearly brand new.

He then kindly grabbed my ankles and slipped my feet back into my shoes.

About 15 minutes later, my soles were quite securely attached to my shoes and they nearly looked as clean as the time I first wore them, about 3 years ago.

For just 120 Rupees ($2.20) he sewed and polished both sides.

Long live the shoes (we’ll see how long they last)!