Hindustan Times
We are like that only
The latest on the Commonwealth Games is that the flats built to house visiting athletes are “filthy, dirty and uninhabitable;” especially the toilets are in a mess.
Are you surprised? I bet you are not.
This had to happen, because this happens all the time, and at all places, in India. So, why single out the Commonwealth Games?
I have read and watched the criticism that has been made about the Commonwealth Games in newspapers, television programmes, public meetings and even at private dinners.
Just 10 days left, we are still building roads; there are potholes everywhere; we get stuck for hours in traffic everyday; these guys (the Games organisers – there are many of them) have really messed up, etc. etc. I wonder if we could have done things differently.
Have you ever come across a builder who has handed over flawless flats? Last month I moved into a so-called high-end residential complex in Noida.
From leaking pipes to broken tiles and faulty door locks, I have been struggling till date to fix things. “Jewel of Perfection” is how the builder described this complex in the brochure. My family calls it jewel of imperfection. Mine is not a story in isolation.
So, how could we expect Games village to be different?
As for the delayed projects that we keep complaining about, I ask: where in India a road gets built in time. The most ambitious and political power-backed Golden Quadrilateral project took years past the deadline to complete. Some patches still remain incomplete. Delhi has nearly 100 flyovers.
I wonder how many of them were completed in time. I am not surprised to see the rush of work on a flyover that comes my route – the second one on the Noida link road, which is barely 3 kilometres from the Games venue. When I am driving back home at night I have to watch out, not for vehicles on the road but for the welders at work on the flyover alongside.
There may be some exceptions such as the Delhi Metro, but these don’t make the rule.
Planning and working to a plan is anathema to us. We often see collective discipline as a mediocre’s virtue. We miss deadlines because we love to leave things to the last minute. We are like that only.
We have tremendous faith in jugaad.
About a year ago, when I asked a colleague if Delhi would get ready in time for the Games, she said: “Don’t worry. They will do the jugaad and everything will be ready in time.”
I am also an admirer of the jugaad model, but when it comes to scale it doesn’t work. We have seen that with the Commonwealth Games. As this blog was being written, a foot over-bridge near the main venue collapsed on Tuesday, and I am not sure if this is the last of the embarrassment that the organisers of the games and hosts such as us would have.
This is the price we pay for the work culture we have – leave things to the last minute. All of us are to be blamed. We need to change.
In the past two months since I started writing this blog, I have always got to it after dinner and finish it just before the midnight deadline. This is the first time I am finishing my blog before dinner, four hours ahead of the desk’s deadline.
I am trying to change.
(85 votes, average: 4.35 out of 5)
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Not sure I’ve understood Jugaad. Could someone translate it for me?
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darius Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 9:02 am
means lacksladaisical attitude
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MBThinker Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 9:05 am
‘The journey of a thousand mile starts with a single step’ – Heard of that? I think you have taken the first and most important step of that journey. I guess the CG organizing team has decided that they are superhumans who can actually skip/hop/fly through perhaps the thousand miles and reach the deadline. At least they are portraying to the world the ‘confidence’ they have in themselves by still calmly giving excuses in the face of impending failure.
As extreme as it may sound, sometimes I think, perhaps if the citizens of Dehli had gathered and created a riot or something demanding a proper handling of all the preparation of CG months ago, would it have been all in perfection today?
Could it be that we too had the unending faith in the organizing committee and also the contractors as much as they had in themselves?
It is no longer about the incompetence of the organizers or the flaws of the contractors…to me it is now about the inability of the nation on the whole to prove to the world that India is as capable as any other country in every aspect.
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Ranjit Bhaskar Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 9:12 am
Meaning of Jugaad approximates to: Doing things by hook or crook!
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Anjul Vashistha Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 9:22 am
Jagaad.. is a non-dictionary word in local Hindi language which means fixing up things in shortcut or unusual way. for eg. if you need to paste something & you don’t have proper adhesive.. you just take out chewing gum from you mouth and use it.. that is jugaad..
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jag kang Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 9:32 am
….”by hook or by crook” – meaning “by any means necessary”, suggesting that one need not be concerned with morality or other considerations when accomplishing some goal.
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Manu Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 11:18 am
Very well written and makes me think of the larger picture why we are in this situation today. Compromising with sub standard delivery of things have become a norm and we Indians have accepted it as part of life.
I like the last statement that you have decided to make a change and has inprired me to make a change in my attitue that I am not going to lie down and take sub standard answer from anyone and will question the system till I get my due. If every educated Indian of the current generation decides makes a change I am sure in coming times our future generation do not have to face an embarassing situation as we do today.
I will not just try but make a change in what ever capacity i can do make a contribution to change and be proud of India some day
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KJSS Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 9:32 am
Hello Selby,
Jugaad is “Last minute manipulations i.e. skillful or artful management of things” to go through the event smoothly!!
I hope it will make some sense!
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Tarun Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 9:35 am
Jugaad means a temporary solution which is sufficient enough to do the job but definitely not the one which is actually required.
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Vinay Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 9:37 am
“Jugaad” means cutting corners to make things work even if not efficiently
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Anonymous Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 9:48 am
Juggad rougly means a fix, or arrangement.. usually last minute.. akin to a band-aid solution.
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qwikm Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 9:58 am
Jugaad literally means contraption and is used in the sense of ‘quick and dirty’
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Deepa Shahi Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 10:13 am
Very well written. Why to blame the authorities involved in CWG 2010,we ourselves are the same kind of person.Leaving the things to last minute.It’s bettter to change ourselves first before pointing fingure to anyone.
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gprabha Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 9:59 am
“jugaad” literally means “make shift arrangement”, which is never a well thought plan and idea that short lived.
The article was well written and as a evolving nation (more than 60 years old!) we need to keep the last line in mind always. Will my country / Delhi ever host another mega event again?..Delhites are taken for granted by OC, Infrastructure companies & Delhi government.
We may have to adopt the last like ” I am trying to change” as a slogan.
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Rajiv Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 10:12 am
The article makes the points. Enough has been written, commented and blogged on “failed” CWG over last few days and weeks. The most shocking part is no one from either Central Govt or Delhi Govt has come forward to take ownership and make amends whatever possible in next 10 days or so. Whenever something good has happened in Delhi, Ms Dixit has always been the 1st one to claim credit (BTW, she is into her 3rd successive term as Delhi Chief Minister) and now when nothing is going right she is suspiciously missing from action.
I pity our PM also as he seems so weak and helpless in this situation. All these corrupt politicians have shamed India and Indians world over.
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Abhinav Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 10:23 am
‘Jugad’ can be define as indian way of doing certain things. The term is very much used in india and if used properly can provide cost effective solutions to the problem.
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Sonu Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 10:30 am
Everything filters down from the top to bottom……The Government and so called leaders of India need to polish their act !
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Syiem Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 10:23 am
Roughly translated – Jugaad means “a stop gap arrangement or solution” improvised with available resources.
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vin Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 10:24 am
I’m sure you’ve googled it by now, but here’s the definition;
Jugaad: “arrangement or a work around, which has to be used because of lack of resources”
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Ravi Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 10:38 am
Roughly translated, a jugaad is a makeshift arrangement or so to say the “other way” of doing things wchich invariably involves bypassing established procedures but generally provides the desired output.
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Pranesh Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 1:10 pm
Getting the stadiums complete on time is one thing, but what about the filth in the country?
Almost every part of India that I have been to was filthy. The streets need to be cleaned more regularly. Building need to be maintained and painted. Public toilet facilities in many parts of India are a disgrace. How can people live like this?
It is a shame that hygiene and personal cleanliness of many Indians is so poor. Many Indians in India need a wake-up call.
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Sunil Sinha Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 10:40 am
Jugaad in hindi means “MANAGE” by hook or by crook.
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Satish Ashtaputre Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 10:49 am
Juggad is a Hindi word & it means to get things done somehow. That is,if things r in mess, then start calling meetings,yell at people around,move here & there.start religious chantings,prey god & get on with your job.The said job gets done but with great difficulty and it is called Jugaad.Understood?
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Satish Ashtaputre Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 11:09 am
Instead of going in 4 any kind of jugaad,it is better to call-off CWG 2010 in India & save our balance image,whtaever is left. We r useless people coming & working 2geder & on top of it v have rusted edifice built on rusted pillars of corrupt politicians,bureaucracy,judiciary & media.So,1 can hardly expect anything out of ot. We r like that only.
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babu Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 11:09 am
Jugaad means to get ur work done by hook or crook.
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Richardson Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 11:22 am
Well, for a change i would like to highlight a world class event hosted perfectly with all things working hand in hand and without any pain on local population(In fact we were more than pleased to be a part of it because it was our event), I’m sure most of you would simply be not aware of that yes its none other than “World classical Tamil conference” held in my city coimbatore Tamilnadu. The arrangements were class apart , also was the planning and execution of the same. I beam with pride as i write this to be a tamilian and having been part of that historical event. I would like to excuse us from the usual rhetoric of N.india, our leaders were passionate about that event and that inspired us, yes the preparations were pain but it was our moment to show what we were up to. The CWG on the contrary was a platform for the north indian politicians to fill their pockets as deep as they can, shame on you oh sorry you don have any such do you ?.. Proud to be a Tamil !!
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HK Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 11:18 am
Heard of McGuyver? Kinda like a McGuyver-fix, or a quick fix solution.
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Rohit Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 11:18 am
“jugaad” means “fix” or “solution”, generally by means of one being resourceful or by using some sort of indirect mechanism.
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Jugaad Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 11:26 am
Jugaad means quick fix….
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Deepak Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 11:26 am
Jugaad — arrangement or a work around. Very common in India
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Harsha Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 12:06 pm
This lack of discipline or proper attitude is very glaring in India. We can’t expect our leaders or the government to change or have a good attitude. It starts with the people like you and I. In India, the leaders don’t set the example, the people do. The sooner we change that, the better we are. Hopefully, this CWG will open eyes across the country rather than further close the with the pessimistic attitude (yes, I know I sound like a hypocrite).
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Harsha Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 12:07 pm
I meant …. In India, the leaders don’t set the example, the people do. The sooner we understand that, the better we are….
Jugaad Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 11:31 am
Jugaad is the term used for “temporary workaround “. In india “jugaad mindset” is permanently seated in politicians, contractors and workers thinking model.
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Rajesh Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 11:32 am
Jugaad – means a temporary fixture, anything that is done on the last minute because it has to be done
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nv Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 11:34 am
Jugaad, means to pull the needed strings to make things come about. It is usually achieved by compromising a lot of things and is not by any means a compliment.
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Rajesh Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 11:37 am
Hi
I liked your title and especially the JUGAD thing thing that you have mentioned there.
Hope to see more of your writing.
Regds.
Rajesh
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Raja Mohanty Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 11:39 am
Jugaad – last minute adjustments, pass through job to last for atleast the required amount of time, short term fix, pull a malnourished rabbit out of the hat kind of stuff
! But it works; however, as stated in the blog jugaad cannot work when scale is important; jugaad is small scale stuff 
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Kumar Menon - Milpitas, California Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 12:14 pm
The CWG are a huge embarrassment and will backfire on India. I won’t be surprised if our prized Outsourced Services sector takes a hit due to all the bad publicity this generates. The collective Indian psyche has no self-respect or concern about India’s image in the world. I call for resignation / firing of Kalmadi, Lalit Bhanot (“the complaints could be due to cultural differences”), and the entire Organization committee. Or better yet, the expats and the true patriots who care about the state of the country should pool their money and buy UAV to shoot down these incompetent politicians, includes the likes of Mayawati for wasting billions of rupees on her statues, Sheila Dixit whose only response to concerns are “the relevant department is investigating the state of affairs”, etc. Don’t these people have any self respect ? How can they live with themselves ? I hear UAVs are not that expensive. I bet we can get enough like minded people to buy one and shoot these people down.
- Frustrated, True Patriot of India
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Rajesh Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 12:27 pm
Couldn’t agree more. All public projects are deayed – not just because of corruption but because there is an in-built inefficiency in our system and values. Only BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) projects – which are owned and financed by private builders get built on time. After seeing this embarrasment and failure of jugaad, I vouch to change – hopefully others will follow.
Rohit Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 12:30 pm
‘Jugad’ : The closest meaning in English is ‘By hook or by crook’. This expression kind of captures the meaning, but not entirely. Hope this helps.
Atul Gupta Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 2:05 pm
I am not sure how do I want to react. I have been bemused at so much of hooplahs going round in the last couple of months and just when I was trying to believe that we have finallly able to pull off the games, here it is, the collapsed bridge. Do we curse the government and the authority or take a blame and onus on us for this attitude. With so much at stake and with each mishappening every other day, I am really not sure if this bright name “Delhi” will ever shine as the host to the commonwealth games.
Punit Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 11:48 am
‘JUGAAD’ is the word used in INDIA and perfectly understood by every INDIAN.
If you can’t find way to sought out your problems, better use JUGAAD. You can say its the thing used to solve your problems.
The best translation to this word is just ‘JUGAAD’.
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Vishesh Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 11:52 am
Hey Micheal! Its an Indian system to make things work, watever be the type of work/occasion. Its like fixing things by going around the normal way of doing it, and making it work somehow at the last momemt, enough to sail through.
Hope, You will also try it sometimes, its fun & exciting in its own sense.
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Rajeev Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 11:57 am
I fully agree with the writer. Not sure how we have developed this sick work culture but I see this in and around and everywhere else. Delaying things till the very last minute has just become a part of everything we do. I see lot of professionals (I am talking about Indian IT industry) where people will openly accept that they can work only under pressue. Unless something has become a must and can not delayed any further will be taken up with full enthusiam and folks will work overnight and/or during weekends and claim we are so committed, we never miss a deadline.
As a nation we are yet to develop a good work culture like oriental countries. We have to learn this as early as possible we we ever hope to take our country into the league of developed countries.
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Ashima Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 11:59 am
I agree with the views completely and so do most Indians. But what should be the next steps.
I agree with one of the reader’s comments that don’t blame public. A lot of people write that Indian public has to start contributing. I see public has started contributing towards bringing our nation forward. I see less people throwing trash on streets now and more people becoming socially aware. Ofcourse there are others as well. But let’s hit the reality now. After all it’s our money that is being wasted and our fellow citizens who get killed in al these accidents that are caused due to corruption.
I think the root of corruption lies in incorrect perception of weath or finances in most people’s mind. If certain section accumulates all the wealth while most public puts in its efforts without getting any value added to their life, what is the real motivation for them to work efficiently and add any value to the society? On the other side of the coin, people who getting everything through corrupt means, they any way don’t add value to society. Basically, corruption criples the society as a whole. There is a need for all of us to wake up now and come up with some innovative ways to come out of this situation.
I hope to see some brilliant ideas to eradicate corruption from the country not just re-iterating that situation is bad. My two cents: Jail term and harsh punishments don’t help. Prevention is better than cure.
Rohit Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 11:56 am
‘Jugaad’ is hindi for ‘an improvised or workaround solution’, not perfect but meant to somehow achieve the key objectives.
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PIyush Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 11:57 am
jugaad ,means arranging things by non conventional /non prescribed methods.
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Sridhar Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 12:00 pm
It is a colloquial Hindi word that means to fix or arrange things so that the job at least appears complete. That can range from papering over cracks using Scotch tape and gum or simply using thicker copper wire in a fuse box to enable it to withstand higher voltages.
Th irony is that jugaad in many ways signifies innovation especially in areas wher there is low availability or access to services. Attaching a motor to the front of a three wheeled cart, for instance, enabled motorized transport in villages.At a higher level, during the years of missile-related sanctions by the US, Indian scientists innovated to find cheaper models of building missiles, supercomputers and satellites. So much so, business schools are studying thsi aspect as they seek to understand India more.
Unfortunately, in CWG context, jugaad is a cover up for the sloppiness and woeful standards of construction and organization. In a sense, it is not jugaad, it is total disregard for the tax payer and the innocents who have been injured or killed in various projects. The term for that is ‘chutiya banana’!
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Chetan Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 1:04 pm
It is good to be modest and take on the blame of a few miscreants on self. However it does not work that way. Everyone has a role to play and they should be held accountable for that, be it the politicians or the citizens. The people responsible for putting the show are getting paid for the jobs given to them; look at the irony how the members of the same team can blame each other for the mess; except for Mani Shankar Iyer none is vocal on this issue. I’m sure not many people were surprised on the foot bridge falling and I must summit that it is ok; accidents like this can happen when you are putting together a huge infrastructure. However how can you honor a statement from our leader saying that the bridge was not meant for dignitaries or VIP’s but for “common man”. This was not enough yet another statement made by a responsible citizen was that our hygiene standards are different from people from other countries. To say the least; today I feel embarrassed to be called an India citizen. .
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Surinder Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 12:07 pm
“Jugaad” literally means an arrangement or a work around, which has to be used because of lack of resources.
This is a Hindi term also widely used by people speaking other Indian languages, and people of Indian origin around the world.
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Rahul Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 12:26 pm
Hi Michael,
loosely translated, ‘Jugaad’ would mean getting things done, by hook or by crook, taking inadvisable shortcuts if required, basically aiming for the ends without considering the validity of the means.
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Rizwan Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 12:33 pm
Jugaad is a Hindi word which is culturally loaded. It means the ability of individuals and groups to get things done, often through illegal and immoral means because of their social and political connections.
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Bubba MacLeod Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 1:05 pm
Nice read, especially ending paragraph.
Part of the problem is everyone seems to want to blame the CWG OC or the govt or some leader or business as if these people are not Indians with indian cultural habits. Who voted for your govt? How did those incompetent and corrupt leaders ascend into those positions? Who reads your newspapers and swallows the lies and propaganda without question? Who tolerates such low standards in health and living and then proclaims their national pride?
The deeper problem lies beyond your national political and community leadership, otherwise India would have been a global maritime, military and economic power centuries ago. Apart from a massive population and nuclear weapons today, India is no more a superpower than the continent of Africa.
Trying to change is a start. But achieving it is a thankless job. Good luck.
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Indian in Australia Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 12:33 pm
Jugaad to put in simple terms is referred to as band aid solution.
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Aman Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 12:38 pm
Mate,
Jugaad is a term used when the requirements are not met or the product is not upto the mark and ’somehting’ is done to keep it working or to get it to work. So, that ’something’ is called Jugaad.
Mind you that sometimes that jugaad turns out to be better than the product – to which it is applied and then that product is changed to suit the ‘Jugaad’.
In India, every problem can be fixed or shown to be fixed by a Jugaad.
Cheers,
Aman
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SD Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 12:54 pm
Hey Mike..
JUGAAD means.. some kind of arrangement done at last moment just to make things working somehow for some time… just to serve the purpose
kind of workaround.. you see.. !!
SD
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Atul Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 1:01 pm
Its improvised Improvisation !!
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Atul Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 1:22 pm
No doubt the current situation that 2k10 CWG are in is a matter of shame, disgrace not only for OC and the politicians but for the Indian people as well. It is the mentality of jugaad and ‘chalta hai’ attitude that has led us here. It has been ingrained in the thought process of a large part of our population.
What I am surprised about is the issues concerning corruption, deadlines etc surfaced only in the month of July-August, 2010. Who was responsible for overseeing these deadlines? Weren’t there any deadlines before Aug, 2010?? The media could also have brought this up earlier?? Why did they bring it up just before the games, again is it the ‘Chalta hai Attitude’ at work here??
It is well known that an event of such a magnitude will involve gigantic sums of money… A check should have been kept on the transactions from day 1 itself !! I remember reading (in April or May) in a magazine that the CWG will be a boon for Delhi & India… well it doesn’t seem so at all.
I guess the problem and solution here is that nobody wants to take responsibility for anything. We are always blaming others. If one accepts some responsibility one will have to work towards achieving something which I dunno why a very small proportion of Indians do.
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Avneet Singh Reply:
September 23rd, 2010 at 10:42 am
Well Written…As per me apart from what u said about “Jugaad”, in the case of CWG it shows the dedication of the Government People in completion of work & marking CWG as a sucessfull event orgainised by INDIA and making Indians proud of it…..
Also it show how the Fund earned from every individual Indians had been misutilised or i should say wasted to prepare some ordinary structure in our CAPITAL which leaks and falls if our INDRA DEV give a good MONSOON to us…
India working is imporving but it is still a long journey
Sharique Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 1:39 pm
Jugaad literally means an arrangement or a work around, which has to be used because of lack of resources. Jugaad” is also a colloquial Hindi word that can mean an innovative fix, 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. It is used as much for enterprising street mechanics as for political fixers.
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Atul Gupta Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 1:42 pm
Jugaad is a very Indian term of getting things done by any means (It usually requires tweaking of the actual things to any degree to modify and suit the requirement), it works right from Politics to Sports, Education to Hospitality, Judiciary to Muncipality, Corporates to Bollywood.
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Sunny Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 1:50 pm
Nothing will happen. Only some blame game for sometime and then all will forget. People will forget again after some time they will vote for the same old people. Nothing will change. This is how we Indians are? What national pride, what self respect we all talk about? This comes only when people are out of India, within India nothing is there. All feet licking politicians, babus know only how to make money. Corruption is in our blood, why don’t we accept? It is everywhere not only govt. offices but in each n every place. Right from my school days I have observed this, it is deep rooted in our soul. Muslim invaders and Britishers could rule India not becos they were extra ordinary smart or brave but becos we were never united, we were corrupt, greedy and oppurtunists. Has anything changed today for us? Pls. don’t count few names, see the majority? Are we united today also as a nation? Yes we unite when we Indians are out of India. When we go from one one state to another and face regionalism, then we say we are indians and whole india is for us. But in our state we behave same. Why this hypocricy? In 60+ years, whole India could not accept national language, national song and we talk about Nationalism. Why this hypocricy? If we want things to change, let’s 1st accept our own mistakes. We all are responsible. Ocean is nothing but collection of drops so each drop is responsible. I meet many people but when I talk about these, they say you are different, you are not practical. Let’s accept that we all Indians are same and nothing will change unless we change ourself individually and it will take long time. It can chane in one generation time provided our school education is equal to all. It is not. We see sea difference in the basic education of our child. It all depends upon the school. Private, Convent, English medium, Government, Municipal schools. I don’t know where we are heading for? I am saying this not becos I want to criticise India. I am saying this becos i feel the pain for India to which i call my motherland. Good Luck India. As rightly said once by CJI, only God can save India?
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M.S.Sahni Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 2:24 pm
I like the title we are like this only. Most of the blogs and comments I have read about Cwg
corruption is always blaming someone else but this is the only piece where I could see that
the problem is in ourselves only and we are all responsible for this mess which has been
created due to our Chalta hai attitude only. Thanks for the nice article.
M.S.Sahni
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rajesh mahapatra Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 4:46 pm
“jugaad” means an ingenuous quick fix
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A Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 8:40 pm
It’s essentially what jimmy rigging is but the word jugaad is ubiquitously used for every situation that you can possibly imagine. “Can you do some jugaad to get me a job?”
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NRI Reply:
September 23rd, 2010 at 5:23 am
Jugaad: Getting things done by hook or crook, somehow.
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very true & well written.
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AM Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 3:21 am
Start by legalising corruption, so that nobody blames us for anything
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I wonder how much of this delay is purely due to corruption and how much due to an ingrained procrastination- friendly work ethic.
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Arjun Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 2:22 am
Could not agree more. This is going to be a huge embaressment for India….so much for thinking we are going to be a superpower. Being marginally better than Bangladesh does not make anyone a superpower. Time to wake up to reality. The commonwealth games will fail and so will India’s standing in the world. Our Govt simply does not work and our leaders are a joke.
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singha Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 2:34 am
Here is “shining india” for you……..lol
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Johnson Thomas K Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 2:37 am
Sir,
What do you expect when the leadership of the country- yes I mean the leadership of the country does not enforce accountability. The edifice of Rule of Law is built on accountability. This is the purpose of handing out prison terms, fines, costs, damages, compensation etc.
Please don’t blame the Indian people who have no real stake in the Indian democracy. Blame the leadership. I know quoting ancient canons of democracy is not fashionable in India. Yet I offer the the concept of “Yadho Raja Thadho Praja”. If a company has to progress its leadership should be good. Look at any number of business leaders both in India and abroad from Ratan Tata to Bill Gates. It is the leadership that lead the people in to new ethos, culture, political style. The Golden Quadrilateral’s progress during the NDA regime and the two terms of the UPA regime has to be compared and the people need to be informed who fared better. Is the Indian media doing that?
The concept of blaming the people for the ills of India’s dynastic rule led democracy is very cruel and misguided besides being short sighted. Is this the way to get Kalmadi, Sheila Dikshikt, Sonia Gandhi, the UPA off the hook?
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cirus Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 10:12 am
Perfect.
Jugaad Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 11:45 am
Jugaad means being innovative and entrepreneurial, pulling a rabbit out of the habit, finding a solution where none plausibly exists.
Sourav Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 12:08 pm
True that!… Now that Leadership is to be blamed, the sold out media blames äam aadmi for not being äctive nice way to win favours from the govt.
Blame the Indian chalta hai attitude. Atleast for the commonwealth games, they should have managed the construction and the funds. This was a time to show the world, that Indians can produce something to a quality standard and that we are changing. Maybe this would have rubbed off on other projects in the country. Anyways, I was being too optimistic.
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I am reading your blog in Ireland. I should really go to bed, as it’s after 1 a.m., but I think I’m in a jugaad sate of mind- I never heard of that word before tonight, but it’s probably a trait common to people who live in countries with green, white and orange flags. As we say here: sure, it’ll all turn out grand!
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Billy Budd Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 10:21 am
i do not think that Ireland has the same atitude as India! When I worked in India my friends told me that India has only one problem.That is that…the people who do the work do not get paid and the people who get paid do not do the work. I thnk it is true. Indians can talk about it,discuss it plan it but when it comes to actually DOING any work they are not interested. Thats why the whole country is so dirty and smelly.
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The most unfortunate part is that we start blaming foreigners who genuinely feel that as of today the village is not fit for athletes to live. Commonwealth countries want to participate but last minute wfithdrawls are always possible if cleanliness standards are not raised immediately.
Organisers may have not got fed up giving excuses buy people have for sure fedup listening to same lame excuses.
Organisers have failed the country. Some youngters like Rahul Gandhi should have been given charge of the games.
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Commonwealth games have just brought a shame to India, nothing else. It is a sheer incompetency of our govt that apart from making any boasting remarks about the games, Govt didn’t pay any attention while all the preparation were going on in Delhi. Mr. Manmohan Singh decided to take over the committee just 2 months before the games, what a shame! What were you doing Mr. Singh in the last one year one Mr. Kalmadi was making boasting remarks in the media about how successful these games will be? I don’t blame anyone else but Indian Govt. and Mr. Kalmadi for bringing the shame to our country. Let’s raise a voice as an Indian and ask the Govt to make a public apology for not handling the games appropriately.
It needs to be raised so that we don’t have to suffer this humiliation in future!!!!!!!
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James Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 6:32 am
It is just Indian atitude and outlook on life. the norm rather then the exception, really.
I have many Indian friends. Most of them exaggerate their capability by ten times.
Once you know them well, yo. Ifu will understand them.
India is not a sporting Nation nor is it a Nation of builders, so the odds are against them hosting a successful games
Perhaps, they will do better, if they bid for the Olympic in 20 years times.
Malaysia hosted one successfully. If this is a mark of a country development, India is probably at the stage of Malaysia back in the seventies.
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Kevin Rodrigues Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 7:48 am
I think the CWG should fail because such a failure which will be noticed in the international arena should provide some sort of action over why such “jugaad” needed to happen in the first place.
Then again, maybe it will just be brushed under the carpet as it has been with so many of our “bad” situations by dragging it in court or committees for years.
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dilip mahanty Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 7:58 am
Agree with your analysis of our work ethics and faith in “jugaad”. Pride in one’s work plays a subsidiary role to expediency! To get away with shoddy work with no accountability is the paramount motivation. Make as much money as possible from whatever projects undertaken is the name of the game! A no nonsense guy like E Shreedharan, who brooked no interference, was able to complete the Metro project within schedule and budget only because the grubby hands of politicians and babus did not sully his single minded quest for excellence.Imagine what would have happened if Kalmadi & his cohorts were in charge of the Metro!
It is sad that we living overseas have to be assailed daily by multimedia with unsavoury headlines about India and its corruption and inefficiency! We cringe and shrink at snide remarks by colleagues and strangers at the happenings of CWG!
The Chinese expatriates here stood proudly, with chest out and nostrils flared, when world media showered unstinting praise on the running of the Beijing Olympics. We ,on the other hand, slink into quiet lanes to avoid disparaging remarks. When India is progressing impressively in so many sectors, thanks to the unleashed energy of the private sector, why can’t our politicians and the pliant babus think about the country’s image rather than wealth and power?
Ganesan Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 12:08 pm
James, Yes, India is not yet ready to host events such as CWG. Yes, there’s general lackness and last minute rush attitude prevails all over the work force. But, don’t say that Indians exaggerate their capability by ten times. I work in ME for ten years and have seen lot of so called westerners who are hired for positions well well above their actual capabilities and keep jumping jobs every 1-2 years. On the other hand I feel Indians should learn more to market themselves better.
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M Singh Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 6:46 am
We, Indians in Australia, are put to much shame and humiliation, at gross mismanagement of the Commonwealth Games. Over a year ago, they saw the things were in mess, still the Govt, of India, could not gather resources. To see the person incharge saying on TV interview that, the facilities are better than those in Beinjing Olympics, is utter disgrace. We, the Indians, have become but of all the jokes and insults in Australia. Does any one care?
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sandy Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 10:32 am
No one has time to care about what aussies are saying to you. If you want you can continue listening to them or come here and add some value
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Ramakrishna Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 7:43 am
How do you think that the real estate mafia has made millions because they know that the law is useless and nothing can be done to them. Afterall a few more rupees even the complainant will disappear. So long as there is no fear of law and justice cannot be quick forget any releif for your problems
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What shocks me is the attitude of politicians on this issue, trying to justify that this is acceptable, implying it is actually fantastic by Indian standards. I sure hope that the CWG are cancelled for 2010, if that is possible. Maybe the world humiliation will jolt & wake up the Indian soul, if it exists.
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This is an international event , bid for and won with commitments given. Obviously those who gave the commitments and won the bid and those who are given the responsibility to fulfil the obligations and commitments are not on the same wave length.South Africa hosted a much bigger event and earned exemplary kudos for a highly successful event. S.Africa did not and does not have the kind of resources,human skills and advantages India has and yet pulled it off to prove that third world countries can also deliver. People vested with responsibilities of this natureneed to have national pride aware that the country and its people are going to be on show and will be the focus of the world. Entrustment of this nature and and delegation of the resposibility to the right persons is itself a highly important and major decision. it is sad and embarrassing that the arrogant first world and India’s ‘rival’ can smirk and exploit this situation by coming to its side and be seen being helpful and expecting gratitude to be shown in other areas. Those responsible for ‘weakening’ the country’s image and causing a poor reflection should be taken to task and removed immediately.
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Niraj Pant Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 10:36 am
I can’t agree more with the blogger. As a Nation we do everything shoddy and accept tacky work be it in office or at any other place. And from there starts the culture of low quality–we believe in taking short cuts and it is treated as smartness.
And on top of it we don’t take action against the defaulters and then that becomes the accepted norm.
Let’s bring in models from outside or in India from the org as Infosys, DMRC etc and change the working paradigm, processes, practices and of course the National Culture of ‘CHALTA HAI’ and ‘MAI-BAAP’ sarkar.
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Rajesh Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 10:39 am
Yes we are like that only….. the country is running in that way. Boundless loots, messing up everything and the culprits went free.
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babu Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 11:15 am
We the common people are suffering in hands of corrupt and shame less politicians. The collapsed food bridge was meant for common people thats wat Ms. Dixit said clearly showing her attitude that we dont care for the life of common people. Culprits still enjoying and giving lame excuses why no action has been taken on them.
Santa Kumaran Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 11:42 am
It is high time we Indians thought that we are great only when it comes to academics and sense of superiority to others; in all other areas we are the worst, especially cleanliness. I know of some Indian families in Australia who have not embraced cleanliness, despite leaving in Australia for over 10 years
Common Indian Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 11:47 am
The message is clear. The problem is it is accepted by all as the law of land. We work like this, expect it like this however we all complain. The politicians are not bothered because they are evaluated by the projects they initiate and not by the imlementation. There are thousands of projects which are advertised and practically no check of their imlementation.
We all have to accet it as problem and set targets for improvement, reward the achiever and punish the guilty
I think we should not limit our thought to CWG . It is just a sample of where things are heading today. And there is no single person to blame for this. We all own collective responsibility. We need to look into ourselves first. How we as individuals conduct ourselves , what do we teach our children. This CWG games is just a reflection of our society. The CWG OC is made of people like you and me and we would be doing the same thing as they are doing today had we been in their position. I really dont know how we can turn back but something really significant has to take place for our society to take a U turn to where we are heading right now…
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Really sad to see India’s name being dragged in international media over the CWG in a shameful way. I appeal to the Board of Cricket in India to plan well before the World Cup Cricket gets underway only in a couple of months. Canker of Corruption has ruined the name of our nation. India in shining only in five mega cities: Kolkutta, Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai. We are backward in everything we do. Still, we are arrogant, bureaucratic and stupid in most of the things we do. I could have forgiven them for anything but not for the collapse of the footbridge. This is shameful stuff. What a shame that we are not able to reap the fruits of our new-found dignity and status in the world!
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I am sorry Rajesh, I reject your thesis.
The whitemen are watching us and want to make fun of our supreme effort to host the games.
Unfortunately the media has got into this cycle of making fun of our efforts so that some sensation is created.
Can you actually tell me what are the state of games facilites in England, St Kitts, Antigua and all the countries of the Commonwealth.
You will be surprised to know that we would fare better than most.
Unfortunately the real villian of the fiasco– Shri Mani Shankar Aiyar who delayed all the projects for 4 years as the Minister is laughing all the way. He has got all the publicity he desired, without actually doing anything constructive.
Do you feel proud if India fails?
Would you feel happy that the whiteman is making snide remarks at us??
Man, the days when one wrote nasty articles about native Indians has gone. Let us have some self-pride, for a change.
Who wins if India fails????
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It’s called karma. Not so long ago, Indian media shamed Australia across the world by putting false allegation of racism on the entire Australia. Now they are being humiliated across the entire world, though deservedly.
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why r u blaming indians when it is the job and decisions r made by congress??
it is the private companies that is making india grow….
this is like blaming india for failure of police and security and babus who have power…to decide..not india
do we blame india for the fialure of a ceo of the company…
ratan tata would have done a good job with cwg and so would ambani..
are tehy not indians???
and please post this…there is alot of criticism that ht boggers censor commnets after taking private emails…this is illegal….and peole r talking about legal action against ht
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