Chinese shoe shops are a dime a dozen on Bentinck Street in central Calcutta. Some still operational, most dear departed, all nondescript.

Had it not been for one of the countless apps listing the local go-to places, we would have never known of Sen Fo & Co. It described the shop as one that catered to big feet - gents' shoes up to size 14.

Now, you will grant that in a country where the average man's height is 5 feet 4.9 inches, that kind of USP is bound to make one curious. After all, India's tallest men are not from this geography or even close to it. Therefore, to make it one's USP might be creative, but in times of floundering business to think it will keep a place afloat, sounds like sheer poor sense.

And so we seek out the shop owner. After multiple requests and two abortive visits, we find him at the back of the shop checking his phone intently. "In the old days, regular people did not wear shoes. Only the sahebs would wear them. And this was the saheb para or white neighbourhood. From the Governor's House to The Great Eastern Hotel, this was the hub. Those days there were hundreds of [shoe] shops in this area. Right now, it has come down to five per cent of what it used to be," the bespectacled man starts to rattle away background material even before we can do a proper round of introductions.

Mr Sen or would that be Mr Fo? Turns out, neither of the two. A Chen Fo Sen had set up the place all right, but the painter of signs goofed up and the abridged moniker stuck. "Our shop is not that old, there are shops in this area that are more than 200 years old," says David Chen.

Though the shop was set up by his grandfather, it was David's father's idea to sell shoes of large sizes. Sizes 11 and 12 are apparently common these days, likewise size 13. People who wear size 14 are fewer, but not rare. "The footwear industry does not look at these sizes," adds David.

We want to know who these big feet are, but our shoemaker is reticent, gives us a piece of eugenics instead. A lot of mixing of communities resulting in taller men even in these parts. Fine, but surely there must be a steady flow of customers for him to keep churning out large-sized shoes?

"If there are no loyal customers, we won't survive. If there are no new customers, we cannot carry on," David philosophises and then points to the wrinkled Chinese man bending over a table and cutting pieces from a tree-brown leather sheet. He is one of the few who have been tutored by the traditional shoemakers of the city. A single pair of hand-made shoes takes around six to eight hours to finish.

So these customers with big feet are Bengalis? David smiles, nods, then says, "They might have large feet but when people wear my shoes, the shoe doesn't appear too big. I design it that way." The thumb rule: no wing-tipped shoes for big feet. "It adds at least three to four extra inches. Makes the feet look ungainly," he says.

We say our goodbyes and take up a position outside the shop. If David won't introduce us to the tribe of Goliaths, we will find out for ourselves.

For the first half hour, there is not a single customer in sight. It is mid-day, possibly not the time when Calcutta's big feet shoe shop.

And then two middle-aged men stop, study the display, walk up to the threshold and just like that, change their minds and turn away with short, hurried strides. After 15 minutes, a group of men with backpacks and a lady in a salwar-kameez come by. But wait, both parties come out empty-handed. They are followed by a man in a camouflage tee and glares and a spring in his step. But he is not tall enough; tries a pair and walks out.

Just when all hope of finding someone with big feet start to ebb, we spy, a tall, moustachioed man with curly hair entering the shop. He tries on a pair. And then another and another. And then he makes the purchase.

P. Venkatesh is a Keralite living in the city for the past four years. He got himself a pair of black lace moccasins - size 13. David's shoes might be faultless but not his eugenics, the tallest men in the country belong to Punjab, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir and - Kerala.