The most amusing feedback is about my bare feet in the picture. It was common at the time to go around the town in barefoot. I did have some footwear, but everybody in my school came barefooted, so I also did. After some time, the bottom of my foot became so callous and hard that once I tried to bang a nail into it, and it wouldn't hurt!
Another Footwear Story
Like I said, my family bought us footwear, but we never wore them, except on special occasions. On one such occasion, my cousin Pradeep wore his chappals (Indian footwear) to a relative's house for the annual death anniversary of an ancestor. While returning (you leave the footwear outside the home while visiting), he forgot that he had worn shoes to the function!
One year passed, and the occasion came again.
We were instructed
to put on good clothes and footwear. But Pradeep couldn't find
his chappals! -- He had lost them one year ago!
Essence of the story -- For a whole year, Pradeep didn't need his footwear.
FYI: Even today, a lot of people India walk barefoot (pictures)
See more stories like this in Personal Stories from India
