Where there is a will, there is a Jugaad. Indians have innovative and personal ways to get things done; this is called jugaad. Jugaadu is a person who can find his way through any system and get things done even when the path is blocked. The Jugaad I am talking about is the result of this jugaadu spirit. I clicked these photos on my recent trip to Western UP.
If you are wondering what this vehicle in the picture is, this is a JUGAAD. It is near impossible to miss the sight of this innovative piece of engineering if you have ever visit Western UP. For the villagers of UP It is a popular vehicle of mass transportation. All you need to assemble this vehicle is a pump, a wooden plank and old tyres. A bullock cart trailer is attached to its rear, a steering attached to the shaft and a 12-horsepower pump engine added to this collage (all this is easily available locally), and lo and behold this vehicle is ready to carry 20-25 people. There is no registration required so it doesn’t have a number plate. According to the law any vehicle on the road needs to be registered with the transport authority but Jugaad is above all rules and regulations. A proof of Indian ingenuity and creativeness, jugaad demonstrates that Indians can find a solution out of any problem.
from Vishesh :)
from Reema :)
20 Comments
June 17, 2008 at 5:40 pm
wow! that is clever and superb
June 17, 2008 at 6:30 pm
Prerna: I assume you write this as an ironic one
“Jugaad is above all rules and regulations..” – this is the key thing which people forget when applying jugaad (or the J-factor as some of my old colleagues called it) in countries and contexts where such violations, as are necessary for a jugaad to flourish, are punishable by law. I don’t even want to start on what it does for our image as a nation…
June 17, 2008 at 7:29 pm
I must admit among many cultural similarities we share a similar slang!
Jugaad is one of the most popular slang in Karachi, Pakistan.And come to think of it, one can also name this vehicle “Jugaad Series”. Like they have BMW series
June 17, 2008 at 7:36 pm
Lol
I didnt know about such a thing in UP…anyway I’ve just been to Kanpur.. 
June 17, 2008 at 8:48 pm
jugaad is the USP of our country…it is the lynchpin that drives our politics, economy everything
June 17, 2008 at 10:10 pm
Compare it ot the Tata Nano:
- more room
- fresh air
- no confinment
- cheaper
- Jugaad – attitude
just one thing: “All you need to assemble this vehicle is a pump, a wooden plank and old tyres”
- why old?
June 17, 2008 at 11:29 pm
Because old is cheap duh
June 18, 2008 at 1:38 am
Our laws cocoon us so much. In the states you would get arrested if you drove that on the street. And funny thing, the new center of creativity in the world is the were it isn’t against the law to be creative.
June 18, 2008 at 5:57 pm
Jugaad is good. You can be the most intelligent person in the world but if you aren’t Jugaadu, you’re probably missing something in life. Always following the conventional path isn’t logical. You could spend money repairing something, or else you could do a jugaad. But then again, it’s not guaranteed to work and jugaad’s can end up pretty badly at times. Doesn’t mean we’re gonna stop them though.
June 18, 2008 at 9:48 pm
Ironic but interesting! I guess they have ( or used to have) similar modes of transport in rural Punjab too…Though Iam not sure that components used are similar too
June 19, 2008 at 9:24 pm
@Pr3rna: you don’t need them to be old
June 19, 2008 at 11:35 pm
I saw this on a news channel sometime back. Its really cool.
June 21, 2008 at 8:49 pm
Isnt this called Maruta? I read about something similar to this many years back. Ingenuity is really what separates out Indians from the rest of the world.
Hail Jugaad!
June 21, 2008 at 8:59 pm
I guess some people call it Maruta.
Hail Jugaad!
July 7, 2008 at 1:02 pm
jugaad is the only four vehicle that can beat tata’s nano in every respect :
exp
1. space
2. air
3. average…..
July 7, 2008 at 1:03 pm
jugaad is the only four wheeler that can beat tata’s nano in every respect :
exp
1. space
2. air
3. average…..
August 4, 2008 at 2:22 pm
This is a site under development..Do check it out.. I am sure you will like it..feedbacks are most welcome..
Check it out
August 4, 2008 at 2:23 pm
The site is http://www.jugaadu.com
October 7, 2009 at 8:29 pm
I just wrote an essay about jugaad in India as seen (and highly appreciated) from the Western point of view. I think you and your readers will enjoy it:
http://ourdelhistruggle.com/2009/10/07/jugaad/
October 8, 2009 at 8:11 pm
Welcome and thanks Jenny and Dave. Thanks for the link, it was a pleasure reading a westerners point of view.