23 March,2025 08:42 AM IST | Mumbai | Dhara Vora Sabhnani
Top police brass and politicians are Raju Mane’s main clients
Almost 70 years ago, Shivram Mane came to Mumbai from Karad in search of employment. He started repairing shoes at a busy spot outside Gate Number 4 of the Police Commissioner's Office near Crawford Market. His son Jagannath started helping him at the age of 12 and soon mastered the craft of making Kolhapuri chappals and other shoes. He upgraded to a stall from the footpath and hired more craftsmen, and today the fourth generation helps run Mane Shoe Mart, employing 10 skilled shoemakers to meet the demand.
The store is helmed by 52-year-old Raju Mane, who has no degree in design or shoemaking but is an expert in designing boots, moccasins, Oxfords, derby shoes, mules and other classic shoe styles. Mane, who has been working at their 60-year-old store since the age of 14, learned the art of shoemaking from his father and the other artisans who were hired as the business expanded. One might think these bespoke shoes might be commissioned by SoBo fashionistas, but their biggest clients are top police brass and politicians. As more international brands with hefty price tags and "handmade in Italy" labels come to India, Mane is one of the last few generational shoe craftsmen in the city. "Some might say I am poor, but I have the wealth of hastkala, and I proudly belong to the Charmakar community. Our art has been passed down from generations. My father was my guru," Mane tells us in Marathi. Not just Mumbaikars, Mane's customers come from as far as Kolhapur, Sangli, foreign tourists who make a stop on their way to Crawford Market or Zaveri Bazaar, and he even couriers orders abroad.
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While you can buy readymade non-leather shoes at the store, "the middle class of Mumbai cannot afford R3,000 leather shoes today", says Mane, who specialises in bespoke shoes, a skill highly underpaid in India. "We have different leather options to choose from, you then choose the style, or I can even recreate a style from the Internet, choose a shade (we have expert leather dyers in-house), sole and heel type, and find the size. We have pattern makers (separate artists who specialise in upper and lower patterns for shoes), hand-stitchers, colourists - there is no bazaari maal here, we purchase all raw materials and make shoes from scratch," says Mane.
Mane knows the value of his skill, "Barely a few people use pure leather soles for shoes in this city, Clarks does it, but you will have to spend a minimum of Rs 15,000 to get a good pair, and it's not custom-made. The middle class of Mumbai will not go to brands like Clarks." Prices for his pure leather shoes start at Rs 3200, and the readymade artificial leather shoes go for Rs 1500. Mane's father was a master craftsman of Kolhapuri chappals (he proudly tells us that most stores source their chappals from Kolhapur in Mumbai, but his father was highly skilled at making them), but the shop stopped selling them after he passed away after battling cancer at the age of 74 in 2020. The new generation is not making Kolhapuris, he says and it is difficult to find a skilled maker in this city.
Mane has witnessed the evolution of Mumbai Police uniforms and the fads that excite the cops. "Earlier the uniform had half pants, and shoes with a strap that would go over. Another popular style back then was Police Pathani. Today Oxfords are compulsory for cops. Constables wear black, and senior officers wear different shades of brown. Earlier cops would prefer shoes with a more rounded tip. Young officers today like their shoes a bit sleeker, with pointier tips, and a bit of heel. Bollywood cop movies are a big influence," says Mane, who also supplied shoes to the popular Marathi cop show, Ek Shunya Shunya. Not just male cops, Mane also made shoes for Maharashtra's first woman IPS officer (now retired), Meeran Borwankar. The Beatle Boot is another popular style, and bikers, especially Bullet riders come to him to buy protective boots. Artists from Sir JJ School of Art next door are also clients. Another bestseller is mules or bantu shoes, popularised by Raj Thackeray in political circles. "So many people ask for shoes like Raj Thackeray Saheb. He has popularised this classic style."
Today his son Akash handles the store and the business (Mane's younger son, Sahil, who was in charge of sourcing all materials, tragically passed away in January) while Mane is in charge of design and shoemaking. "I am not educated, and I am so proud of my daughter-in-law, Pooja, who handles our social media accounts, and runs the business online. She is also pursuing a course to improve her skills further and take our crafts and business to new heights."
Rs 3200
Starting price at Mane's store for pure leather shoes, which big brands retail for at least Rs 15,000
At Gate no 4, Commissioner's Office, DN Road, near Crawford Market.
Call and WhatsApp for orders 7977050300, 9987213223
