I always had this fascination of wearing shoes that made sound -Tak Tak Tak. I believe that the sound of shoes makes you different from others. It makes you more professional and elite.
This story is quite old. One day I saw a lot of eyes turning towards a person whose shoes were making sound – Tak Tak Tak. Within seconds the corridor of office was left all silent. The gentleman with the same consistency of sound of his shoes passed the corridor and entered into his cabin. The door read the designation as – Director General.
I again looked at the corridor. I was the only one standing. The Director General was too busy to look at me. Whether it was the designation or the sound of his shoes that made everyone disappear from the corridor, I was wondering?
Before I could conclude my thoughts, I remembered the similar sound of shoes coming from our school Principal, when I was studying in KVS, New Delhi. The sound of his shoes was like a warning to all of us, including teachers. No one was allowed to wear shoes that made similar sound. The sound of shoes had become Principal’s identity.
I also remember another senior bureaucrat who was a silent walker – no sound of shoes at all. No one would even come to know when he would have crossed the corridor. We would only know when his peon would come back staring at all of us, reminding the crime we just committed – unintentional and inadvertently.
Never thought the sound of shoes could be so impactful.
Encouraged by such incidents, I also decided to buy shoes that made the similar sound. All the brands were searched in prominent shopping malls, but I could not find such shoes.
During my search, some even suggested to put some nails or horse-shoe on the sole. Some went even further – they suggested to put some drawing-pins. All creative ideas were pushed forward for me to decide. In a shoe shop a sales lady also questioned my decision and politely told me that I was living in the era of black & white movies. Some even misunderstood me as a scholar who was doing some kind of thesis in sound of shoes.
Handling all such statements – I was still searching for my pair of shoes.
Finally, I could get one such pair and was very proud of my achievement. It had a leather sole and it made exactly the same sound as was heard in the corridors – Tak Tak Tak. I never bargained, as I was too excited to find one.
I bought this pair and placed it on the front seat of my car, just beside me, with a feeling of pride and accomplishment of my mission – finding shoes that made sound.
Now I was only waiting for the morning, when I would be wearing these shoes and would go to my office.
The night was difficult to pass, since the shoes were resting near my pillow. Whole night, I could hear the sound of my shoes and could see the people dispersing. Eventually, I was finding myself placed in the shoes of the Director General and my school Principal.
The morning came quite late that day. Probably the night was longer than I imagined.
Finally, taking all the precautions, I wore the shoes and went to my office. My walk had changed. My style had changed. I had grown overnight, just because of those shoes. I was a different person all together. I was indeed different.
With one hand in my pocket and complete concentration to ensure my shoes made the similar sound, I finally walked on the corridors of my office. The impact was to be felt. Everyone turned around with the sound of my shoes. Ironically, more than me, they looked at my shoes. Some smiled and some looked envious. I could hear in some hush-hush noise someone calling me an ‘attention seeker’. But my shoes were making a hell of sound and were aligning with the heart-beat of many at the corridors.
I realized; shoes do make a lot of difference in your personality.
It is said, shoes create first impression. Shoes also narrate about the character of a person. Not just the sound, the colour of shoes, the texture of shoes, the brand of shoes, the type of shoes – with and without laces, the way you wear your shoes – all show what kind of a person you are.
More than the crease of your trouser, the shine of your shoes makes a difference.
You might have seen people wearing torn-out trousers – being fashion enthusiast, but you will never find anyone wearing a torn-out shoe. Rather, ironically, with every torn-out trouser, you would find an expensive shoe.
Check if your shoes make sound too. And if they do, believe me, you are few of those, who are always in the storm.