Jugaad – "An arrangement or work around used because of lack of resources", this is how my dictionary describes this tribute of that almighty to we Indians.
I’ve often thought, at the same time, felt bizarre about the great trait among Indians of ‘getting things done’- howsoever inputs we need to put in or how perfunctorily we are to accomplish the given job at hand. We’ve become perfectionists at shenanigan, masters of hoax & probably the best ‘MANAGERS’ whenever it comes to any form of superficial management, what we ‘DESI-ly’ call ‘JUGAAD’. :P
Being an Indian, needless to say, this one-of-its-only-kind feature is incepted within me, innately. Amid last ENTRU-MEET, I, myself et al were the incumbent event heads of one of the many events. The stereotypical first round saw straightforward political questioning. The round witnessed just another presentation of, quite handy, ‘JUGAAD’ in order to get idea about the respective answers, thanks to super co-operative competitors in ambience the teams were with & needless to mention, the advancements in the gadgetry science. The second round passed by smoothly without much mess wherein the teams were to bandy about their election manifestos before the Junta.
Then came the 3rd & final round which, according to course of action, was to be assessed by one of our much revered faculty members. We hadn’t so much as expected the forthcoming glitch, courtesy-undue irresponsibility of Sri H& N@!%, who rocked the boat & backed out on the very last minute from judging over the event due to his purported ‘personal’ reasons.
Lo & behold!!! Sri N@!% had already chickened out on us & there we were, left to become scapegoats. With less than 15 minutes for the scheduled start & not a single deserving person in the offing, I had already started getting hallucinations about my colleagues taking poignant jibes at my super incompetency in event management. Next, what I could recall is someone proposing under his breath to pack up & furtively escaping the scene to spend next few weeks as fugitives (better burying our heads down somewhere in the ground). :P.
After a while, shunning the panic, some churning of heads & having had a concise talk with the conveners-there it was, the X-factor, the Jugaad. Ya Basta!! We had ‘managed to’ procure, just in time, even more notable personality as our about-to-be judge, Mr. Sankalp Mittal (CAT-2008, AIR1, for the matter of fact). In the end, all event heads were out of the woods. For once, the Jugaad had worked.
I equate the instance with just another high profile event, which I have an exact notion about, that possesses this exclusive characteristic of Jugaad-ment (read management) – the CWG.
“What is common between CWG committee & students?”
Ans- Both start their preparations at the11 hour. :P, this was yet another wisecrack at the CWG before they actually started.
To be very honest & leaving sentiments apart, the offbeat preparations for the games were never up to the mark, incessantly missing each & every deadline (without fail). Potholes flooding with water with just extra downpour, that too in the vicinity of main venue, bridges crashing to dust, games-village ‘white-washed’ with pan stains, ‘ultra hygienic’ washrooms (that often invited nausea from the officials visiting on routine checks), squalor of the cattle left unattended – these are just a few of a plethora of blunders one cannot overlook. I happened to read in TOI about some ‘wise men’ working-to-save-India’s-skin, audaciously trying to drag the top brass of CWG committee into public, asking them to declare an apology for their insolence in projecting a tainted semblance of India. (Personally speaking, if I were there, I’d be pro-‘ANTI-CWG’ mission too.)
The era before the games had almost everything to sufficiently mar an event on a scale like this, with media playing spoilsport, adding fuel to the fire, nonstop, with its constant bitching about the glitches & hitches in CWG preparations. Adding to the misery, with his worsening by the minute situation, was Suresh Kalmadi & his never ending hunger for rebuke from authorities higher to him. In a nutshell, the games were set to prove an ignominious disaster for India’s figure. It seemed a far cry for India to accomplish the games gloriously or just to launch them prosperously. A handful looked sanguine about the odds.
In spite of all controversies & loopholes in preparations, India ‘Jugaad-ed to’ (read managed to) showcase a spectacularly marvelous opening ceremony that proved just enough for the world to stare unflinchingly at what lay in store & was yet to be delivered. Why just the opening ceremony? The games, as a package proved a boon for India. Right from the beginning, India delivered or ‘managed to’ deliver the quality that, by no means, was inferior to international parameters one bit. At the end of day, India ‘managed to’ defy all prophecies of doom. “INDIA UNLEASHED-WITH VEHEMENCE” became almost every newspaper’s headline.
I stumbled upon an athlete’s blog while browsing through internet that mentioned the tacky conditions not more than 30 days before starting of the games. She describes the preparations “India is a mess, utter chaotic. Prevailing conditions seem to be totally pathetic & pitiful as hordes of cows, buffaloes, stray dogs & god knows who else stroll through roads & sidewalks with pride.” Wait, I haven’t concluded yet. This was her description about the scene on her maiden visit 30 days before the start off. She comes back, now her 2nd visit to actually participate in ‘CWG-DELHI 2010.’ “Swoosh!!! No single cattle, no single beggar traverses my sight. The condition, surprisingly, seems absolutely almost perfect!! Almighty! How could anyone ‘manage to’ swallow up the mishmash & vacate it with such neat, that too in such a short time?” The answer is simple-Who else but the great INDIAN JUGAAD.
I’ve used ‘managed to’ repeatedly above, since I feel it ain’t an elite level of management quality (a positive remark in itself) that we possess, but undoubtedly an excellent height of ‘JUGAAD’ (an ostentatious feature ultimately leading to buy out positive remarks, one way or the other).
To the world outside - The plight of India had been over turned. India now looked forward to bidding seriously for 2020 Olympics. By far, 2010 CWG proved out to be yet another star in India’s shining theory (inappropriate outlay of funds left apart).
The Jugaad had worked, yet again.
To conclude, I’ve realized why Indians make such astute ‘Jugaadus’ (‘managers’, to sound more sophisticated, for the human race outside :P). As far as it goes, we still can count on this innate, cliquish, proficient & very handy trait of our own – Jugaad.
The article has become possible only because of the one who bequeathed the INFRA responsibility for MB11 to me, justifying “Infra head to koi jugaadu hi hona chahiye.” :P
