Let me take you back to the age old story of ‘Thirsty Crow’. Once there was a crow. He was very thirsty. He went here and there in search of water. At last he saw a water pot. He looked inside the pot. There was very little water inside the pot. The crow saw some stones nearby. He thought of a plan. He picked some stones and started putting stones inside the pot one by one. The water level came up. He drank the water and flew away happily. This story was amongst the first few I was told during my childhood. The then moral of the story was ‘‘Where there is will, there is a way’’ but life is all about exploring and evolving constantly. Going with that we human beings are the certainly the most accommodating and we instantly look for solutions. I have been observing people, reasons vary – the pressure of circumstances, peer pressure, family expectations and what not. Everybody loves short-cuts and ‘Jugaad’ for that reason is picking up fast. It is no more a way of life…it is smart strategy. The solution and results matter at last – for my driver, the maid, the friends, the colleagues and almost everyone around. If someone bangs the idea of ethical ways – people just disregard the philosophy and feel that you are not aware of how the world works. How to get the job done is no more a concern, to get the job done is what matters. To share an experience – few days back I had gone to meet my Uncle at Aligarh and on the way back my car broke down. I was around 25 kms from the city. I called my cousin to help and in half an hour’s time he came to the rescue with a mechanic. He checked my car and told me that it needs to be taken to workshop. I told him I can’t spare that much of time as it was already 3 pm and I had an urgent meeting the very next day. He said in Hindi, “To iska koi jugaad ker deta hoon” (“He will do something”- Read it as temporary arrangement) so that I can reach Gurgaon. He connected some wires to the battery and asked me to test if the car is fine. I checked and my car was working perfectly. I thanked him and started my journey to Gurgaon and in around 4 hours I was there at my home in Gurgaon. Next day I went to a nearby service station and got my car repaired. Defining Jugaad ‘Jugaad’ is a word which is used very frequently in day to day life. As per Wikipedia, Jugaad means an innovative fix or a simple work-around, sometimes pejoratively used for solutions that bend rules, or a resource that can be used as such, or a person who can solve a vexatious issue. Both concepts express a need to do what needs to be done, without regard to what is conventionally supposed to be possible. Indovation, Chinovation, Hack, Kludge are some of the words which are used as synonyms to Jugaad. All the concepts express need to do what needs to be done without taking the same old beaten path. And The Thirsty Crow was the first to travel ‘the Jugaad way’ and now I know the current moral of the story is to use possible means, creativity and innovation whichever can help human kind to live a solution driven life.
The Little Angel
Do you believe in angels? Have you ever seen an angel? I never believed till the time I didn’t meet a Little Angel. I was very young when I started learning to ride bicycle. I was quick to learn and just after a couple of practice sessions I was able to ride on my own. I was quite confident that now I can ride fast. As they say confidence is good but overconfidence always sinks the ship and I learnt this hard way while riding. I was driving fast when I saw a scooter taking a sharp turn and moving in my direction. I panicked and I applied the brakes. I lost control of the bicycle and I fell down on the road. A couple of bystanders rushed to help me. They picked me from the road and I was bleeding from my nose. They took me to a nearby hospital for the first aid. Doctor checked my injuries and asked if any of my family members was around. I gave him my father contact number and he was there at the hospital in next few minutes. Doctor told my father that there are no internal injuries but to stop bleeding I needed a couple of stitches, to which my father agreed. Doctor asked the nurse to give me an injection and then he will stitch the wounds. I was very scared of injections and I started crying due to tyrpanophobia. The moment nurse started filling the injection my screams got louder and louder. I was crying so loudly that my screams were audible to everyone present in the hospital. My father and everyone around tried their level best to make me agree for the injection but I was determined not to take injection. While they were trying to give me an injection forcefully, a 7-8 years old kid came to my bed and touched my head with his small hands. I could not stop myself looking at him as he said, “ਵੀਰੇ ਤੁਸੀਂ ਟੀਕੇ ਤੋਂ ਡਰਦੇ ਕਿਉਂ ਹੋ? ਮੈਂ ਤਾਂ ਨਹੀਂ ਡਰਦਾ l ਟੀਕੇ ਦਾ ਦਰਦ ਚਾਰ ਸਾਹਿਬਜ਼ਾਦਿਆਂ ਦੇ ਸ਼ਰੀਰਾਂ ਤੇ ਚੱਲੀਆਂ ਕਟਾਰਾਂ ਤੋਂ ਕਿਤੇ ਘੱਟ ਹੁੰਦਾ ਹੈ.”- (“Dear Brother, why are you scared of an injection? I not scared of anything. Pain of this injection is not even a fraction of the pain four sons of Guru Gobind Singh Ji would have suffered when they were hit by swords fighting evil”). His words just mesmerized me I stopped crying and got the injection. While doctor was stitching my wounds I was thinking about the sacrifices of four sons of Guru Gobind Singh Ji. Their sacrifice was for others and they had no personal interests while injection and stitches were for my early recovery. Surprisingly I felt no pain at all during the small surgery. I promised myself that I’ll never be scared again from such petty things like injections or stitches. I recovered in a couple of weeks and soon afterwards I started riding my bicycle again. I don’t know who he was? Where did he come from? Why did he inspire me to take the injection? I never saw him again and to this day I believe him to be “the little angel’, who was sent by God. He is amongst my biggest sources of inspiration. Whenever I see people scared from troubles of their lives; I share the story of ‘The Little Angel’ and tell them the importance of pains which leads us to better life.