Daijiworld Media Network
Mumbai, Nov 28 : They say if lady luck is in your favour you can become a celebrity or billionaire overnight, forget the past and begin a new life. However, strong will power, patience, hard work and dedication are as much, if not more, important in a person's journey towards success.
Here we speak of a gentleman, Jameel Shah, who came to Mumbai barefoot 15 years ago all the way from Bihar, and is today a popular shoemaker, supplying shoes even to VIPs and top celebrities in the world!
His story is inspirational. The Bihar boy is the eldest among 8 children, whose parents were living in extreme poverty. The parents had no money to send any of the children to school, but a nearby mosque management helped them by paying the school fees. Still, Jameel's parents could not even afford books and pencils for the children.
Jameel, at the young age of 10, decided that this was not the place for him and moved out. He left his place with his meagre belongings and climbed a train to New Delhi. He found a room to stay in a remote area, with three or four other boys of his age who were also on the same boat as Jameel. For some months he worked, selling bags, toys etc, and with whatever money he earned, he spent his spare time watching bollywood movies!
And soon, the boys dreamt of meeting top bollywood actors and get some job in the film industry. Staying in Delhi, meeting actors was not possible, hence Jameel decided to move out to Mumbai and took the train to the city of dreams.
He managed to reach Dharavi where he found some of his distant relatives. One of his relatives got him a job at a garment factory, where he had to work for 14-16 hours a day. His main aim was to meet bollywood stars. He made some friends there, and sought advice on how to fulfil his dream. Some of his friends told him that he should go to five-star hotels to meet celebrities, and for that he needed big money.
Jameel decided to work harder and started saving. He developed friendship with a person he found highly trustworthy, and began depositing his hard-earned money with him for safekeeping. The plan was that once he had saved Rs, 10,000, he would visit five-star hotels to meet Bollywood stars!
But God's plan was different. His 'trustworthy' friend cheated him and fled with Rs 9,000 that Jameel had earned with his blood and sweat. The youngster was totally desperate, even more so now that he had no other way to meet film stars. He was angry, frustrated and did not know what to do. Someone told him that his friend had escaped to Bangalore. Without wasting any time Jameel caught a train to Bangalore to trace his 'friend'.
After an unsuccessful attempt to trace him, and with no money left, Jameel grew totally desperate and finally took up a job as watchman in some apartment. Impressed with his sincerity, a family made enquiries about his background, and offered to send him to school and sponsor his expenses. But Jameel refused.
Jameel won the hearts of occupants of the apartments with his sincerity and hard work. One fine evening, one of the apartment owners asked him to dress well and come along with him. Excited by the invitation, Jameel dressed his best with what he had. The person took him to a dance club in Bangalore city. Stunned by the talents of dancers, Jameel harboured a new aspiration - to become a dancer. The very next day he went around checking for dance classes, but everywhere, he was asked to pay high fees.
Moreover, Jameel thought if he could learn dance first, he could easily meet Bollywood stars! Hence he decided to hone his dancing skills before fulfilling his long-cherished dream.
He left Bangalore and went back to Mumbai, this time in search of dance schools. One day he came across an advertisement banner on a Mumbai street about dance classes. He went to meet the choreographer, Sandeep Soparkar, a well-known dance artiste. He expressed his desire to learn the dance but said, "I am poor and have no money." Again, Jameel's sincerity shone forth, and the big-hearted Sandeep accepted him as a trainee.
Jameel proved to be a fast learner, much faster than those who had paid to learn. He grew close to his master Sandeep, and soon learnt the tricks of the trade.
One day, Sandeep was down in the dumps, worry written all over him. When Jameel enquired, he said he had ordered a few pairs of shoes for a dance completion from London, but they had not arrived.
When Jameel asked what kind of shoes they were, he was told that they were light-weight, hardly heavier than socks, and suitable for a particular style of dance. The price for a single pair of shoes was approximately Rs 12,000.
Desperate to help his master, Jameel took an old pair of shoes from Sandeep, and made some research on how to make such shoes. He tried his best, as he had earlier worked in a garment factory and also had some experience in footwear manufacturing.
He tried to design and produce a light-weight shoe, and finally succeeded in making one pair, but Sandeep rejected it.
However, he was not lose heart, nor was he ready to accept defeat. He made 13 attempts to make the lightest shoes possible for the dancers, and all 13 times Sandeep rejected them.
But on his 14th attempt, he was lucky. Sandeep had no words to appreciate his work. He had made perfect pairs of shoes for the dance, much better than those from London. The price for that pair was just Rs 2000!
In Dharavi itself he found all the raw materials for shoe production. He supplied 12 pairs of shoes to Sandeep, and became an instant hit.
He then started earning his living out of making shoes, and as the days went by, he began to settle down in life.
While he concentrated on making shoes, his first dream had remained unfulfilled. The youngster who had dreamt of meeting Bollywood stars had the best surprise of his life, when he got a call on his mobile phone from none other than Priyanka Chopra asking for two pairs of dance shoes!
And thus his journey began. His Bollywood dreams too saw the light of day, with celebs like Kajol, Ajay Devgn, Amisha Patel, Abhishek Bachchan, Hrithik Roshan, Neha Dupia, Katrina Kaif becoming his customers. He supplied shoes that otherwise cost Rs 12,000 for a paltry Rs 2000. He went on to become the darling of not only Bollywood, but even Hollywood stars and other dance artistes from around the world.
Today, he runs his business in his own three-storey building in Mumbai. He also brought his siblings and relatives from Bihar here to work with him. He produces about 500 pairs of shoes per month, with a turnover of more than Rs 1 crore per year.
In a nutshell, the boy who came to Mumbai barefoot, is now supplying shoes to stars in India, Canada, UK, Australia, Dubai, Italy, and many more places and for many reality shows!
Jameel can be contacted at jameelshoes@sify.com.
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