People First | Meet The Smiling Shoe Shiner Who Has Been Polishing Shoes In Delhi For 3 Decades

Shiv Charan is emblematic of big cities; at once, the most unreal things happen to people here alongside some of the most heartbreaking things. Shiv Charan has been polishing shoes at Delhi’s popular market – Janpath, for 3 decades now. He came from Uttar Pradesh in search of a better livelihood; the creases on his face speak for a man who has worked tirelessly his whole life. But within all the hard work, there have been moments of pure surprise for him, like the time the cast of the very successful show CID came to get their shoe polished in between a shoot! His only regret though is that before people wore more leather shoes, and now it’s all about sports shoes which hurts his business. His benevolent smile says that shoe polishing is not just a menial job for him but so much more.