Patent the "JUGARH" Technology of India ...............

Here's a humourous little piece written way back in 2004.it is actually a narration of a real incident. hope you enjoy reading it!!

Patentable Idea


I was in Bangalore to speak at a seminar on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). In contrast to this summer, Delhi that year was terribly hot with temperatures soaring to new heights, but when I landed in Bangalore in peak afternoon, it was simply great to hear them announce the outside temperature a pleasant 26 degrees Celsius. It rained a lot that night making the next morning, the day of my presentation, really breezy and chilly.

I went into the bathroom, looking around for a geezer or in case of a hidden one, at least some sign of a switch. Couldn’t find trace of either. Presuming a central water heating system, I coolly turned on the hot water tap and waited confidently for some nice warm water to start pouring into my cold bucket. Water did come but icy cold. I checked the cold water tap, tightened it further and opened the hot water one a little more and again waited expectantly, but what I had before me was a big bucket full of chilled water. I had no intention of foregoing a bath but all the same, definitely didn’t intend to bathe with that icy water and worsen my already severe cold and cough.

I kept thinking, analyzing and thinking more logically. There had to be a hot water system since there were distinctively two taps with relevant indicators for hot and cold water. Perhaps they’d decided against providing it that day. But with so many guests in the guest-house and it being quite a coldish day of Bangalore, they can’t do such a thing. I was getting late for the seminar and all my logical thinking was taking me nowhere. Then suddenly something flashed through my mind. I remembered one of the speakers in the previous day’s session mentioning something about the “Jugarh Diplomacy” in India. I started racing my mind in search of some “Jugarh” that could get me hot water. At the same time, a part of my brain was busy reviewing some key points of my presentation. “Highly innovative approaches” was one phrase where something clicked. I took off my shower-cap and put on my ‘thinking-cap’ and was blessed with a brilliant idea. This was my last bet. I closed the left-hand hot water tap and opened the right-hand cold water tap, and ..…EUREKA! Steaming hot water began gushing out into my bucket. Gr..e..at !


I’d finally found a ‘Jugarh’. Innovative thinking and approaches help not only in complex IPR issues like the one I was going to speak on, but also come in handy in such minor but crucial issues as acquiring a bucket of hot water to bathe with on a cold morning.

This taught me a valuable lesson in life. Don’t always depend on traditional norms as it limits your thinking and potential be innovative in your thinking if the set rules don’t yield results. It’s not necessary that the left tap with the red dot will always give hot water and the right one with the blue dot, cold.

On second thoughts, I think I should get this brilliant idea of mine patented, but probably that will have to wait because, as of now, ideas are not patentable!

Manisha Gupta