Ramaswami: Shamim was barely 15 years old when he took over his father’s profession. Many young men like him, born into impoverished and landless homes in Western Uttar Pradesh’s Shamli district, become pheri wallahs or travelling cloth salesman. Shamim is now 30 years old. Over the past 15 years, he has spent months at a stretch away from his family and village, while touring states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat and Haryana to peddle his wares.