WHY PRAMILA DEVI USES HER SLIPPERS SPARINGLY

Sales of mass footwear items have slid-an indicator of stressed incomes and faltering consumer demand

- Sayantan Bera

A conversation with the women of Methi blurs the distinction between necessity and luxury. For urban Indians, owning a pair of footwear is a necessity, but not for the women of this village, about an hour's ride from Muzaffarpur, the second most populated city of Bihar.

For instance, Pramila Devi uses her sole pair of Hawaii chappal (flip flops) sparingly. She wears her pink worn-out pair to move around after sun down but seldom during the day, to prolong its life. The pair will not last more than six months if used daily.

Besides, moving around barefoot does not raise eyebrows in a village. It’s left to one’s choice and means. When most of what a family earns is spent on purchasing food, a pair of slippers, a bar of soap, or a set of clothes are indulgences.

Pramila Devi’s seven-member family is dependent on day wages earned by her son, a former migrant worker who used to work in a textile factory in the National Capital Region and send around ₹4,000 home every month. But after a minor accident scraped the flesh off one of his fingers while working on a machine, Pramila Devi coaxed him to return home in January. He now works as a farm hand, earning ₹250 a day. The wages have remained stagnant over the past few years and finding work—on or off the farm — even for 15 days a month, is tough.