Stories
Patna's Whistling Cobbler Bablu Dreams Big: Educating 7 Children for IAS, Judge Roles
- •Bablu, a Patna footpath cobbler, polishes shoes while whistling and singing, a talent he's nurtured since childhood.
- •His musical inclination stems from his father, a clarinet player in an English band party, inspiring Bablu's whistling prowess.
- •Shoe polishing is a four-generation family legacy for Bablu, who has operated his shop in Patna for a decade.
- •Despite limited income, Bablu educates his seven children; his twin daughters recently secured top ranks in a block-level scholarship.
- •Bablu dreams of his daughters becoming an IAS officer and a judge, and he also aspires to be a superstar himself.
Key Questions Answered
Bablu runs a shoe polishing and manufacturing shop named BK Shoe Surgery and Shoe House near the secretariat in Patna. This profession has been carried out in his family for about four generations, dating back to his great-grandfather, making him the fourth generation in this line of work.
Bablu and his wife have seven children consisting of five daughters and two sons. Despite his limited income, he is dedicated to educating all of them, proudly noting that his twin daughters recently secured top positions in the block-level national scholarship, and he dreams of one daughter becoming an IAS officer and the other a judge.
Bablu is passionate about whistling and can accurately reproduce any tune or song he hears, alongside singing Bhojpuri songs. He developed this interest from his father, who was a master in an English band party and played the clarinet.
