Jugaad
Jugaaḍ (or jugaaṛ) is a colloquial word in Indo-Aryan languages, which refers to a non-conventional, frugal innovation, often termed a "hack".[1] It could also refer to an innovative fix or a simple work-around, a solution that bends the rules, or a resource that can be used in such a way. It is also often used to signify creativity: to make existing things work, or to create new things with meager resources. It can be compared to the French term bricolage, although the two concepts do not precisely correspond.
Jugaad is increasingly accepted as a management technique
According to author and professor Jaideep Prabhu, jugaad is an "important way out of the current economic crisis in developed economies and also holds important lessons for emerging economies".[6]
Etymology and variants
It is pronounced as jugaad or jugaadh in Hindi, while in Punjabi and Urdu it is pronounced as jugaar, with a hard r sound that can be misunderstood by non-native speakers as jugaad.
One potential origin is yog[a] meaning 'joining' or 'union', a cognate of English yoke. There are similar idioms in the Dravidian languages; for example, thattikootu (to 'put together') or oppeeru ('fixing' or 'getting') in Malayalam; or mazhattu (மழட்டு) 'to distract' in Tamil. In Telugu it is called upaayamu (ఉపాయము).
Another view is that the word originates from the Sanskrit word yukti which means 'a solution (to a problem)'.
In its general sense, jugaad roughly corresponds to various English terms including
Improvised vehicles
Jugaad can also refer to a homemade or locally made vehicle in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. They are made by local mechanics using wooden planks, metal sheets and parts taken from different machines and vehicles.
One type of jugaad is a
Though no statistical data is available, it is reported that there are a number of instances of failing brakes, requiring a passenger to jump off and manually apply a wooden block as a brake. As part of research for his 2013 book, Innovation and a Global Knowledge Economy in India, Thomas Birtchnell, a lecturer of Sustainable Communities at
Jugaad vehicles are not officially recognized as road-worthy, and despite a few proposals to regulate them, vote-bank politics have trumped safety concerns. The improvised vehicles have now become rather popular as a means to transport all manner of burdens, from lumber to steel rods to school children.[9] For safety reasons the Government of India has officially banned jugaad vehicles.[10]
Another type of jugaad called bike-rehra or motorcycle-rehri, a motorcycle, moped or scooter modified into
Another type of jugaad called phat-phatri
A variant of the jugaad vehicle in
Another variant of the jugaad called chakkda rickshaw, a motorcycle modified into a tri-wheeler with truck wheels in the rear is used in the Gujarat state of India.[17]
A variant of jugaad in Pakistan is a motorcycle made into a motorized trike called chand-gari meaning "moon vehicle" or chingchee after the Chinese company Jinan Qingqi who first introduced these to the market.[18]
Today, a jugaad is one of the most cost-effective transportation solutions for rural Indians, Pakistanis, and Bangladeshis.
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Jugaad vehicle peter rehra powered by an agricultural water pump engine
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Jugaad engine being hand-started
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Jugaad vehicle carrying passengers to a political rally inAgra, India
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Bike-trolley, a jugaad trailer for motorcycles
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Chakkda rickshaw inGujarat, India
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A non-motorized meen body vandi jugaad-style improvised vehicle, inTamil Nadu, India
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Motorised meen body vandi
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Chand-gari rickshaw in Pakistan
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Diesel engine converted into a peter rehra vehicle in Punjab, India
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Peter rehra, a local vehicle made with a diesel engine in Punjab, India
See also
- Chindōgu, a Japanese term for deliberately "un-useful" inventions, created as a hobby and entertainment.
- Frugal innovation – simplifying a product and its manufacture, especially to produce a version affordable in developing countries
- Gung ho, a technique of guerilla industry employed at the Chinese Industrial Cooperatives in WWII
- Transport in India
- Transport in Pakistan
- Transport in Bangladesh
- Jury-rigging § Similar phrases
Notes
- ^ "जुगाड़" [Creative improvisation]. aamboli.com.
- ^ "Jugaad: A New Growth Formula for Corporate America". Harvard Business Review Blog Network. 25 January 2010.
- S2CID 225681071.
- ^ "India's Next Global Export: Innovation". Bloomberg Businessweek. 2 December 2009.
- ^ "A snip at the price". The Economist. 28 May 2009.
- ^ "Cambridge expert says Indian 'jugaad' is lesson to world". 8 November 2013.
- ^ "Rural India's jugaad for cheap travel - Livemint". www.livemint.com. 25 March 2008. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
- ^ "One hack of a vehicle". The Indian Express. 25 October 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
- ^ "Bal Mandir Public School Transportation".
- ^ "Govt issues order to seize jugaads". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 30 March 2013. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
- ^ "जुगाड़ू रेहड़ों का विधायक तलवाड़ और पार्षद मनीषा ने किया उद्घाटन".
- ^ "Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann 'unhappy' with transport dept decision to ban use of 'motorcycle rehri'".
- ^ "Phat-Phat: A reincarnation of Harley Davidson".
- ^ "Indian Tripurteurs A7".
- ^ Narayanan, Vivek (18 August 2017). "The hazards of native ingenuity". The Hindu.
- ^ "Motor Tricycle-Motor Tricycle Manufacturers, Suppliers and Exporters on alibaba.com".
- ^ "The Chakda: India's True Jugaad Vehicle - be on the Road | Live your Travel Dream!".
- ^ "Motorcycle rickshaws to be replaced with electric bikes".
Further reading
- ISBN 978-1-1182-4974-1.
- Krishnan, Rishikesha T. From Jugaad to Systematic Innovation: The Challenge for India.
- Mitra, Barun S. (26 January 1995). "India's 'Informal' Car". Asian Wall Street Journal. p. 10.
- McClellan, Philip (11 October 2012). "Is Jugaad Going Global?". "India Ink" blog. The New York Times.
- Tiwari, Rajnish; Herstatt, Cornelius (December 2012). "Open Global Innovation Networks as Enablers of Frugal Innovation: Propositions Based on Evidence from India" (PDF). Technology and Innovation Management. Working Paper No. 72. Hamburg University of Technology. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Also published as: "Frugal Innovation: A Global Networks' Perspective". Die Unternehmung. 66 (3): 245–274.