Handcrafted leather chappals are made in the dusky little town of Chamba, commonly called “Chamba Chappal”. These are sturdy, comfortable and remarkably relaxed to put on, and well suited for the needs of hill areas. They are both, embroidered and plain, the embroidery is done in several colours and the glitter is added through zari threads. The craft of making these chappals is being practiced by the cobbler community in Chamba.
Since early ages, leather has been a crucial part of the human culture. Eventually it gained a part of the human body and soon, started catering to different shapes of different body parts. Leather footwear came into existence in India in the 16th Century, via Mughals. Juties which were very famous in Lahore equipped the northern part of our map. Raja Shyam Singh the owner of Himachalis took a new step of inviting the Britishers to his palace. And this gave a new introduction of more designs to Mughal Juties by Lord Curzon which are now known as Chamba Chappals.
There is another famous version of the origin of Chamba chappal. Once upon a time, Chamba had a tradition of crude grass shoes. Things changed when princess of Kangra was married to a royal family in Chamba, and as a part of her dowry, she brought along a cobbler family with herself, who would be of service to the queen and the kingdom. With this arrived the culture of leather footwear.
