Muktamani Devi

Moirangthem Muktamani Devi is the founder and owner of Mukta Shoes in Kakching, known for its hand-knitted woollen shoes. She was named for the Padma Shri in 2022 in the field of trade and industry, from Manipur ^[1].

A pair of torn school shoes

Muktamani was born on 15 December 1960, a farmer’s daughter, and studied up to class 12 ^[2]. About 30 years before the award, her daughter’s school shoes tore and she could not afford new ones, so she knitted over them with old wool ^[2]. Her daughter wore them happily to school, and teachers began asking her to make shoes for them ^[2]. That gave her the idea of making knitted woollen shoes with hard soles ^[2].

Mukta Shoes

She began making and selling the shoes in 1991 and founded her company in 1993 ^[2]. She has exported them to Australia, South Korea, New Zealand, Japan and Dubai, and received orders from Britain, France and Mexico ^[2]. Her business employs many people, and she has trained more than 2,000 men and women in the craft, including through programmes with the Central Leather Research Institute and the MSME ministry ^[2].

She has received a national award for micro, small and medium enterprises in 2008, a Citi micro-entrepreneur award in 2006 and Manipur’s master craftsperson award ^[2].