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.

“I keep a couple of pairs with me when I go to college and when I see anyone walking around without footwear I immediately approach them and ask them whether they need chappals. When they nod a yes I hand over a pair. If I am out of chappals I take them to the nearest stall and buy a pair,” said Pandya, adding that most of the ‘barefoot beneficiaries’ are to be found outside temples, on footpaths, shanties near dug-up roads or on railway platforms.

And what are the reactions?

“When I first approach someone who is without footwear and strike up a conversation they give me a suspicious look but later grin when I offer to give them chappals. In a matter of five-ten minutes I speak to them, ask them if they would like to own a pair of slippers. Once I give them the slippers, their expressions are a mix of surprise and joy. Before I leave, I also ask them to use the slippers and not sell them,” said Pandya.

A modest Pandya also admitted that neither his parents or friends knew about his habit until recently. “I told my mom a couple of months back and initially she was apprehensive that while interacting with strangers I could get into trouble. My dad learnt about this through a website a couple of days back and though he was initially surprised he does not have any problems with it. My friends don’t know anything about it as I never hand out slippers in their presence,” said Pandya, categorically stating: “I work alone. Others have superstitions about not giving footwear on certain days of the week and I don’t want to be restricted by that.”