The Shoeshine

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The central theme is the dignity of labour. The story shows that no honest work is beneath a person's dignity, and that a positive attitude can turn a difficult situation into an opportunity.

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The narrator is an unnamed educated young man who has come to Delhi in search of a job. He has only five rupees and some loose change, and later decides to work as a shoeshine.

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Shovan Lal is a shoeshine boy who meets the narrator in Connaught Circus. He persuades the narrator to think about work, explains the shoeshine trade, and later helps him join the Shoeshine's Union.

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He says he cannot afford it because he has no money to spend on a shoe polish. He is also looking for a job and does not see polished shoes as his priority.

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He means that appearance matters in a job search. Dirty shoes may create a poor impression, and employers may not like it. He is trying to persuade the narrator to get his shoes polished.

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Shoe polish costs only four annas. This shows that a shoe polish is inexpensive, even though the narrator still cannot afford it at that moment.

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He had only five rupees and some loose change. This detail shows how difficult his financial situation was when he came to Delhi looking for work.

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He learns that a shoeshine can earn more than a government clerk named Ram Singh. This makes him realise that shoeshining could solve his money problem.