Of Jugads Versus Magic Realism

      

Don’t blame me of absurdity if I intend to compare these two things and come to a conclusion that both are one and the same thing. While magic realism is a highly precise art form, Jugad represents the Indian culture of way of doing things.

For those who are not aware of what Jugad actually means, let me introduce you to this peculiar Queen of the Road prevalent in Eastern UP and a few other places in North India. Poor economic condition, population explosion, poor roads and paucity of public transport are known facts here, may be that is the reason why Jugad has become so popular and ubiquitous here. Necessity being the mother of invention, indigenous automobile engineers (read mechanic in a roadside automobile repair shop) invented their own vehicle – Jugad in order to overcome these problems.  Assembling the available village amenities, like a generator pump for irrigation, the tires of a tractor and the steering wheel of an abandoned ambassador, they produced a Jugad out of these materials.

As the Jugad is not manufactured by a company, there is no need to pay road tax, or for that matter, sales tax as well, you only have to fill the diesel tank and the Queen is ready to take everyone for a ride. Be it a political rally or a marriage ceremony or taking agricultural products to the bazaar or the mill, Jugad is the multipurpose answer to our transportation problem.

It may be a little too dangerous, but that’s the way it is here.

With time, this Jugad has become an allegory of the Indian way of “arrangement” for anything under the sun.

If someone is sick, but there is no money or time for taking him to the hospital, the answer to the problem is Jugad (read Hakims and traditional healers practicing on the roadside)

If there is no electricity in your house, steal it by connecting some Jugad (read  house hold aluminum wire) to the livewire.

The examples are innumerable and in fact, there is a popular joke concerning this idea of Jugad. Once, the President of America visited India and he was really amazed to see the power of Jugad – One solution to all the problems he faced over the period of his visit. Right from starting an engine of a car (spoon), to opening the closed gate of the Qutub Minar, Jugad was a panacea for all dire situations. So while returning, when our prime minister asked him, ‘Do you want anything in particular as a souvenir from India?’, the American president was quick to ask for a Jugad. His response led to pin drop silence in the hall and a few of the bureaucrats managing the event sweated profusely from the tension.

‘Hey man, what’s wrong? Did I say anything inappropriate?’, President Sahib asked once again. The over anxious secretary hesitatingly pointed out, ‘Sir, we can’t provide you a Jugad.’

‘Why?’, asked the President.

After a long pause, the secretary muttered abashedly, ‘Because the whole country and in fact, this ministry also runs on Jugad only…..’

Jokes apart, this is how the country is running by means of the cheap, dangerous, unethical alternative named Jugad.

You might be tempted to ask me, ‘Even if we accept the existence of the concept of Jugad, where does magic realism come into the picture? In what way does it resemble Jugad?’

To make this clear, I want you to just listen to what critics who are not aware of what magic realism is, have to complain against this art form. They accuse magic realism of absurdity or incongruence, such as,  

“How can a tree talk? We want literature, not a fairy tale.”

“How can a boy who serves in a tea shop (Chai wala) win KBC by mere guesswork and also tell his life story while sitting in the hot seat? This is un(su)real.”

“How can a face look like a triangle in a painting?”

My answer is simple: Like life, every art form has its own limitations. While writing, we can explain what we think, we may give a vivid description of the event, but we can never recreate the whole feeling that we have experienced.

While drawing, one can create a visual experience, but he/she cannot draw or let the viewer feel what the other sensations like smell or sound was.

Even the most diverse art form – “The Motion Picture” cannot entirely depict the purpose intended by the creator.

So, in order to communicate his/her idea, the artist/creator takes the help of surreal things, as quoted above, which is nothing but a JUGAD.

It is as cheap an alternative as Jugad, but I find no unethical or dangerous issue in this kind of Jugad, compared to the parallel metaphor prevalent in India.