Jugaad (quick fix or innovative solution)

JUGAAD - A new word made a great impact on me when I moved to Delhi a decade ago from my laid back hometown. I was impressed by the way the denizens of the national capital managed things. They rarely said they could not (do something), for there were always ways to make things happen. Later on I realized that this was what Jugaad was all about - anything that solves an everyday problem in an inspired, ingenious manner.

Jugaad is basically an innovative solution to any problem - the mantra of new age management  in any industry - catering, automobiles or even the booming beauty business. Jugaad is  ‘in’  as these examples show:

The food at the average Indian weddings is always an elaborate affair and great care is taken to ensure that sufficient food is available for all invitees. But on rare occasions, the number of guests exceeds the hosts' estimate and the food runs out. It happened in December at Chattarpur, at a wedding held at a sprawling, isolated farmhouse; there were almost 75 bays for various foods. But at about 11 p.m., the food platters began to dwindle. Guests were still pouring in.

Mr. Fahad, an imposing Pathan and a family friend of the hosts, guessed that the food was in short supply and took matters into his hands. In came the redi-wallahs (food hawkers in mobile stalls), quietly through the back gate and in minutes, the trans-continental cuisine was replaced by the desi (and much tastier) version! The guests were happy, and the jugaroo-man was appropriately awarded too...

The beauty and fashion industry make creative use of everyday objects in their designs.  Flowers replace exquisite jewellery, look better and cost much less. Dry coconut shells are used to make everything from buttons, and bangles to clothing and sophisticated coiffure. Are you mesmerized by the kohl-lined eyes of a beauty?  That may actually be a layer of mustard oil burned in metal to produce the rich dark colour of kohl.  And tight-fitting costumes are sewn at the seams after they are worn, and many a times held in place by safety-pins!

But it's the automobile industry that holds a monopoly over jugaad technology. Jugaad is synonymous with the low cost vehicle. Jugaads cost around fifty thousand rupees and are powered by diesel engines originally intended to power agricultural irrigation pumps. The improvised vehicles have now become a popular means to transport  for everything from lumber to steel rods to schoolchildren. In the crowded streets of Old Delhi, you will be greeted by these makeshift cousins of the auto-rickshaws. They go by various names – SAARTHI, CHETAK, MAYURI!

Do not be surprised if you see Bajaj Super with a long trailer carrying cabbages arranged in a neat heap, or a pick-up van with a n outsize chicken carrying cage. But the most endearing ones are the nameless (and shapeless) jugaad vehicles that carry 6-8 buffaloes  stashed together like playing cards in an unbelievably tiny space - it makes me wonder if they possess compressible tummies!

Someone has rightly said that intelligence is trying an alternative path when the conventional one is not working. And so, Jai Ho Jugaad!!

 Peter Gould: Jugarad (Hindi: जुगाड़) is a Punjabi term widely used in India and by people of Indian origin around the world. Jugaad (also sometimes jugard) is a term applied to a creative or innovative idea providing a quick, alternative way of solving or fixing a problem. Jugaad literally means an improvised arrangement or work-around, which has to be used because of lack of resources."