Stories from the Atelier: Jeetu Bhai

In the bustling heart of Mumbai, Jeetu Bhai, a seasoned shoemaker with a legacy embedded in Bihar, stands as the master craftsman at Papa Don't Preach.

“I was born in Bihar and lived there my whole life. My father was a shoemaker with 40 years experience in the business and always encouraged me to follow in his footsteps. I got into shoemaking when I was seventeen years old. My guru and Ustaad’s name was Rajendra and he taught me for three years. My father also gave me guidance and skills to expand my craft. I’ve been doing this for 25 years now and I'm still not close to where my father was in terms of experience and skill set.” 

Jeetu Bhai’s  roots and shoemaking tradition laid the foundation for his artistry, as he made the choice to leave his hometown. “I moved to Mumbai in my early twenties and worked as the head shoemaker for Gossip Shoes. A good friend of mine recommended that I join Papa Don’t Preach and introduced me to the company. I’ve been here for over four years now and still work primarily in the shoe department. My role involves sampling and creating the bottom of the shoe as well as assisting with all shoe related fixes.”

Orchestrating the creation of every shoe from the ground up, Jeetu Bhai takes us through the meticulous process of making a Papa Don’t Preach shoe.

“There are a number of steps that go into shoemaking but it always starts with the ‘last’ of the shoe, which is a mold of the foot. Once that is done, we cut and stamp vegan materials to make the base and sew the pieces together onto the mold. Lastly, we add the embellishments and surface decorations in the classic Papa Don’t Preach design. It takes me an entire day or longer to make the base and mold of the shoe. The rest really depends on the work to be done on the shoe. I like working with pink and purple as they are my favorite colors and I like to make shoes with those colors.”

Beyond the confines of his workshop, Jeetu Bhai is a family man, with a wife and four children pursuing their education. Despite his own journey in shoemaking, he leaves the door open for his children to carve their unique paths in life.

“I am married with 4 children. All my children are currently studying in English-Medium Schools in a hostel. My eldest daughter is studying in Burmi, one of my children is in the 9th grade and the boys are very young right now. I don’t envision the same career as me, for my children, I leave it to fate to help them choose their respective paths in life.”

Jeetu Bhai recalls his career highlights, noting the milestones he’s proud of the most.

“I enjoy the craft of shoemaking. If I wasn’t in the field of shoemaking and had to join any other line of work, I would have to learn everything from scratch. My father persuaded me to join his line of work otherwise I would have liked to do any other work. In my schooling years, we were not very well off so when the decision had to be made about what career path I was to choose, I chose my father’s line of work as our financial situation at that time was quite different. Today I have made shoes for Sunil Shetty and Amitabh Bachchan and Salman Khan, which is something I am proud to have done in my lifetime.”

Disclaimer: The above interview was taken in Hindi and translated to English for the platform.