This 23-year-old doesn’t throw his footwear at leaders, but uses them gainfully nevertheless, donating a pair whenever he spots bare feet

It all begins when he sees bare feet. They may belong to beggars, flower vendors, slum children or even drunkards. But a glimpse is all it takes for him to saunter over and ask whether the person would like a pair of slippers. A few minutes later, he walks away, leaving behind an awestruck owner of new slippers whose feet are bare no more.

This is the story of 23-year-old Nandan Pandya, a final year engineering student who practises a simple, frugal and timely rather than time consuming mode of social work. He donates slippers to anyone he sees barefoot if they can’t afford footwear.

“This habit of mine began around nine months back as an impulse resulting out of an instinct. I saw the son of a garland seller in my locality in Kandivali roaming around barefoot and when I asked him why he told me that his feet were large and finding cheap footwear of that size was difficult. I took him to a stall nearby and bought him slippers with my own money. Since then whenever I see anyone barefoot, I give them slippers,” said Pandya who buys them with his pocket money.

Depending on when he has the money to afford it, he also buys a few pairs of slippers, preferably from road side stalls or from wholesale shops, and carries them around with him, to come handy when he spots a pair of bare feet.

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