Innovation and customisation is an essential part of the transport sector across the world, be it the Manila Jeepney in the Philippines or retrofitted cars and carriers in the US. But in India, this phenomenon, lovingly called jugaad takes on a whole new dimension. It could be as simple as fitting a larger carrier, to replace the small clip type, on the ubiquitous bicycle to transport goods or at times accommodate a few children. It could be fitting a motor and maybe, motorcycle wheels, to the tricycle cart, or thela as it is locally called. The cart itself could be hitched to an old moped or motorcycle. Or else, the well-known “Jugaad” transport vehicle, popular in several parts of North India, particularly the rural area, where it’s used to transport both people as well as goods. Then, recall Delhi’s famous ‘phatphatiyas’. Once the lifeline of transport from Central Delhi to Old Delhi, these modified Harley Davidson or Indian Chief motorcycles fitted with an 8-seater wagon, were immensely popular till they were pulled off Delhi roads.

What is ‘jugaad’?
A very typical Indian word, jugaad essentially means getting things done creatively and cheaply with the least resources possible. It can also be described as a non-conventional, frugal innovation with fixes and solutions that bend the rules by making use of available resources to serve the purpose. And, to be sure, Indians across the sub-continent are known for their jugaad. Let’s take a look.

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Jugaad transport
These are essentially homemade or locally-made vehicles, put together by local mechanics, using wooden planks, metal sheets and parts taken from different machines and leftover automobile parts. In fact, it’s little more than a diesel pump engine strapped on to a rickety wooden quadricycle, with lots of bells and whistles with the front often painted in garish colours. This low-cost vehicle is variously known as kuddukka or pieterehra in many parts of North India. They are often fitted with diesel engines originally intended to power agricultural irrigation pumps. They have poor brake systems, with a block of wood or stick requently serving the purpose. But they can easily rough it out on the poor, unpaved rural roads. These vehicles can be seen carrying huge loads of farm produce. And they can transport anywhere between 20 and 35 people with fares as low as Rs 5 to Rs 15. The jugaad do not have any registration plate as they are not registered with the Regional Transport Office (RTO). Hence, no road tax is paid on them and there exists no official count of such vehicles. Another type of jugaad is the bike-rehra or motorcycle-rehri. A motorised tricycle, with a carriage or wooden cart is fitted behind a motorcycle, moped or scooter, it’s frequently seen not just in rural areas but several cities in North India. In fact, they are driven even in parts of Delhi-NCR, especially within various colonies to carry construction material, clothes for ironing or even for garbage clearance. The meen body vandi in Tamil Nadu is another jugaad vehicle, innovated by the fisherfolk to transport fish. The three-wheeled motorised variant has a heavy-duty suspension and a motorcycle engine. Another variant of the jugaad, called chakkda rickshaw, is from Gujarat. It’s a motorcycle modified into a tri-wheeler with truck wheels in the rear.

Phatphatiyas
The name derived from the sound they made when driving, the phatphatiyas of Delhi basically comprised a sawed-off chassis of World War II relics, Indian Chief, Indian Scout or Harley Davidson, welded to two wheels and an axle at the rear. They were powered by a 6.5 HP Greaves Lombardini diesel engine. The stocky tricycles, which were meant to seat eight passengers, could be seen carrying over 12. The motorcycles were brought into India in large numbers during and after the second World War and auctioned. These were then converted into openaired motor rickshaws that boisterously thundered around. A quintessential part of the route between Connaught Place and Old Delhi since the late 1950s, the phatphatiyas had a charm of their own.

It was their highly polluting diesel engines that saw them moved off Delhi roads in 1998, with a Supreme Court ruling delivering the final blow on polluting vehicles. It was indeed sad to see them go. Equally sadly, one does not exactly know where they have been sent off. With electric vehicles making a buzz these days, one cannot help but wonder if the great Indian jugaad mind cannot work again to retrofit these much-loved hulks into e-phatphatiyas and bring them back to Delhi roads. However, they may well lose their signature Harley sound and belie their name. So what?!!