When it comes to “jugaad”, we Indians nail it like anything. Those who don’t understand the word ‘jugaad’, it is being innovative in a cheaper form. It is basically engineering not found in books, making use of something which it is not meant for in a creative way.

And when it comes to being creative and innovative, India is a hub for such people. Don’t you even get me on “cheap” we are habitual in some areas. From a flea market jeans to genes, we are full of cheap things all around us. For those founding any offence here cheap has the economical meaning (Pun Intended). So here we have collected some amazing Jugaads Indians are up to.

Best of Surgeons With Their Best Of Jugaads

Paper clips to hold skin flap

Dr Pushkar Waknis, a Pune-based maxillofacial surgeon, found an altogether unexpected use for it – to keep the skin flap in place while operating. Not only is it effective, but also more easily accessible than the textbook prescribed Raney clips, which are hard to find in India and at Rs 40,000 a box, quite expensive.

Ayurveda always trips allopathy:

In 2012, surgeons at AIIMS published a paper in the Indian Journal of Surgery, which showed that using honey (procured from beehives on neem trees) healed wounds better and faster than povidone-iodine (betadine), standard ointment used in such cases.

OMG, mosquito net

Traditionally, a polypropylene mesh is used to fix ruptured tissue in case of adult groin hernia, but it is an expensive material. Dr Tongaonkar replaced it with mosquito net cloth. At the time, a meter of mosquito net cloth cost Rs 40 while the imported surgical mesh cost Rs 9,430 for a 30X30 cm patch. Dr Tongaonkar has used the mosquito net mesh in more than 500 hernia operations.

House made of plastic bottles

The NSS wing of College of Engineering, Trivandrum has addressed the problem of huge number of plastics bottles that cause pollution in India by doing something amazing.

And now the Bhel Walas..

Newspaper/used pages from notebooks rolled up as cones/plates and cardboard pieces/banana tree leaves as spoon. Easily disposable. Economic.

This jugaad by the authorities

Authorities in Nagpur could understand the problem of two-wheeler riders in the city. The hard hitting sun was at its peak when authorities came up with an amazing idea. They installed tarpaulins on the signals where two-wheeler riders could rest a bit in shade. Ironically, this also resulted in people following traffic rules even more in the city.