SUNDAY, APRIL 28, 2024
FREDDY FERNANDES
PANJIM: Loleshwar Apa Nipanikar’s tiny makeshift place, squeezed between two buildings in Panjim, is more than just a place to fashion or mend shoes; it was and is a sanctuary of leather craftsmanship. At 88 years of age, his hands, weathered by years of devotion to his craft, hold the magic to transform the ordinary into the extraordinary.
Loleshwar’s makeshift outlet is located between the Old Civil Court and another building near the Panjim residency. Over his nearly nine decades, he has seen Goa change from the Portuguese to the Indian regime. Loleshwar’s father, Apa, used to run a booming shoe business opposite Café Tato in Panjim, during the Portuguese regime. He had 22 workers and plied the trade for 70 years. However, after his death, Nipanikar’s brothers decided to sell the shop. Finally, they had nothing left and had to do odd jobs to stay afloat.
So 30 years ago, Loleshwar Nipanikar decided to follow in his father’s footsteps and start this small shop opposite Mermaid garden in Panjim. He proudly proclaims that he has even fabricated shoes for Maria Amélia Franco Veiga, the wife of 128th and last Portuguese Governor General Fernando Manuel Antonio Vassalo e Silva (1958 to December 19, 1961). Even after Goa’s Liberation from the Portuguese, he has fashioned shoes for two Lieutenant Governors of Goa, Daman and Diu, names of whom he cannot recall.
Loleshwar recalls with pride that he has customers from the USA, London, Mumbai who return to him for shoes when they come down to Goa. But the high point of plying this trade was an invitation for him to participate at a shopping exhibition in Macau. “Going to Macau in 2008 was a thrilling experience. About 12 of us, including Goan cooks, craftsmen, and artists were taken to Macau to participate in an exhibition. I had taken about 500 pairs of shoes, all of which got sold out,” Loleshwar beams.
His specialty is custom-making shoes for his clientele. He also makes shoes for medical or orthopaedic purposes for people who have pain or deformities in their feet. “Business was booming during the Portuguese regime since nearly everyone wore shoes in those days. My clientele was mostly Portuguese, but also Goans. Now, business has dropped since people prefer to wear chappals. We make shoes and chappals of pure leather, but people prefer cheaper shoes of artificial leather or other material. We are now forced to stock these shoes too,” he admits.
Loleshwar says that custom made leather shoes are available only with him, another shoemaker at Cortin, and near Café Bhosle. For his excellent craftsmanship and hard work, he was felicitated by the Rotary Club of Panjim Riviera in 2020. With his business he was able to manage to sustain his family of three, which includes his wife and his son Sidharth over the years.
Besides his skill in fashioning shoes, Loleshwar is also a thespian, having acted in Marathi dramas over the last 30 years. One event he has never failed to act in over the decades is the drama put up at the Mahalaxmi Temple on the occasion of Gudi Padwa, staged by his samaj. It was only during the Covid pandemic that this was suspended, he says.
Reflecting on the future, since his son Sidharth has opted for another profession, Loleshwar says that the shoe business will be kept alive with the help of workers.
