Thinki Script: Dr Jagdeep Saxena Translated By: Ratnawali Mitra

Thinking Out Of the Box
Script: Dr Jagdeep Saxena
Translated By: Ratnawali Mitra
Coordinator: Kapil Tripathi
Title Song………….
( Sound effects of a village……a motorcycle approaching…coming
close and stopping.)
Father—Hey, Binnu, what are you up to?.....now, which bike have you brought?
….yesterday, you got an old cycle and today this…..what are you up to?
Son------ Don’t worry, father……I’m not up to anything wrong .These are for
farming only…….
Father-- (with awe) for farming, did you say?( laughs) who are you kidding?
You think I’m a fool?.....this is a motorcycle….not a machine.
Son----- You know, father, Mansukhbhai would convert them into farm
equipments……just you wait!
Father-- Really? But I don’t know who you’re talking about..
Son----- You’ll get to know him soon. Just be patient.
(Changeover music)
(ambience of a village)
Kids---- Father has come, father has come !
Father—(a bit rudely) go and do your studies!
Dadaji—Anything wrong, my son? You look so dejected …hope everything’s
fine in the fields?
Father—(hesitantly) ..no….everything’s not right with the crop….watering the
sugarcane crops has become impossible…..its getting infested with
pests as well.
Dadaji-- Why don’t you go in for that gun….I believe, its very effective!
Father-- (with surprise)…GUN?...what are you talking about?
Dadaji-- Yes, my son…..or …it has a similar name….one of our fellow farmers
has made it….now, what’s his name?...yes, yes, …Annasaheb
Udagawi…right.
Father--- And what is the name of that gun?.... I’m sure it has a definite name.
Dadaji--- Yes, of course…..but can’t recall….it’ll come back to me….can’t
recall just now.
(change-over music)
Anchor—Hello and Namaskar , dear listeners. I’m your friend Namrata……
Welcome to this edition of ‘Thinking out of the Box’. We’ll bring
you face to face with two grassroots level innovators, who when faced
with a challenge , found their own solutions. By using things available
around them, they made small innovations that have made a big
difference to the lives of many. We will now be presenting to you
two such innovators who have reduced drudgery in farming. Their
innovations are helping farmers to save time and increase efficiency.
And, they’ve done it all at a very low cost!
Mansukhbhai Jagani of Mota Dewalia village in Amreli district in
Gujarat is our first innovator . Mansukhbhai belongs to a farmer’s
family. But because of his love for tools and implements, he is now
better known as an innovator. So, then, who better than Mansukhbhai
himself to tell us about his innovations?
(change over music)
(many people seem to be talking. A motorcycle drives up close and stops)
Rahul—Bhai saab, I’m looking for Mansukhbhai’s home….any idea?
First ---- Yes, yes…..of course….we can tell you all about him….what is it
voice
you wish to know?
Second – shut up….stop that nonsense. Bhaiya, we can give you directions to
Voice
his home…..but he’s not home , you know.
Rahul--- why? has he gone out somewhere?
Second –oh, no…no…he’s forever in his workshop, you see….he keeps
Voice
tinkering around with tools and machinery. He’s a great innovator.
First --- that’s why he’s so famous…journalists from newspapers, television
Voice and radio keep coming for his interviews.
Rahul-- well that’s why I’m also here…..I’m from a newspaper…where is his
workshop?
First---- not very far…..take this left turn and keep going straight, till you find
Voice the workshop….you can’t miss it….there would be a number of
motorcycles parked outside.
Rahul-- thanks.
(sound of a motorcycle starting)
First
Voice--- but make sure you park your motorcycle properly….I mean, do lock
it properly….
Rahul—why? Is it likely to get stolen?
First---- no, no, that’s not it. What happens is ,Mansukhbhai is very fond of
converting a motor cycle into a three-wheeler.
( everybody laughs)
(sound effects of a motor cycle starting and merging into that of a factory….)
Rahul-- So Mansukhbhai, these are all converted from motorcycles? They
look great!
Mansukh- Bhai saab, they look great when you see them on the field…you should
see a farmer actually using one for ploughing a field, sowing seeds or
for sprinkling insecticides and pesticides. The farmers here
are finding them very useful. I’ve also found a name for them.
Rahul--- Please tell me.
Mansukh—‘Bullet Santi’….you know why?Because the first one that I made was
from the bullet motor cycle of Royal Enfield.
Rahul ---- Mansukhbhai, I certainly want to see it being used in the fields…but
first tell me how you got interested in all this? I believe , you were born
into a farmer’s family….how did you get involved with machines?
Mansukh- Oh, that’s a long story. I’ve struggled a great deal , you know. I had
four younger brothers….. I barely completed my primary education
when I started helping my father in the fields. My father could never
make the two ends meet….we were always short of money…so I
went off to Surat.
Rahul--- Why? To find work?
Mansukh- Precisely. I worked there in the gems’ industry……cutting and
polishing diamonds….but, after sometime, the industry went into a
slump…..so then,I returned to my village and learnt welding and
soldering …..actually took a training course….
Rahul--- Oh, then you’re a ‘trained jugadu’!! (they both laugh)
Mansukh- ….and after that, I started my own work……in this workshop….I
repair diesel engines , agricultural tools and equipments, I make
ploughs etc.
Rahul---- all that is fine…..but what was it that you were saying about ‘bullet
Santi’? How did you become an innovator?
Mansukh- Rahul bhai, that was a matter of chance…..
Rahul----- ( interrupting) yes, but without your ingenuity and hard work,
nothing would’ve happened !
Mansukh- (laughs)…yes….you can say that…most people tell me that. Yes,
like I was telling you,…….these areas are arid and we have many
drought years. It becomes difficult to provide fodder for the farm
animals…..keeping bullocks becomes a challenge.
Rahul----- that’s right…..how would bullocks survive if there’s no food for
them?
Mansukh- One day, my friend Mohan was talking about precisely this problem.
He didn’t want to keep the bullocks , but then how was he to plough the
fields? And this got me thinking.
Rahul----- Ok …then, what did you do?
Mansukh- I had myself lived in poverty…..I’m aware of the risks in a farmer’s
life. Mohan’s words would keep coming back to me…..have you seen
our three-wheeler taxis? They’re known as ‘chakdo’ in these parts.
Rahul----- yes, yes. I’ve even taken a ride on one of those….its rather fun.
Mansukh- Looking at a chakdo, I told myself that it shouldn’t be too difficult
to convert a motorcycle into a three-wheeler, add a tool- bar to it
so that implements for farming can be easily attached to it…..it
looked like a possibility.
Rahul---- Mansukhbhai, you were quite right……absolutely doable….what an
idea!
Mansukh- so I got down to work. I got a Royal Enfield bullet and converted its
engine into a five and a half horse-power diesel engine; took out the
the rear wheel and added two wheels with the help of an attachment
…. then I attached a toolbar…..that was it! My ‘bullet santi’ was
ready!
Rahul---- Mansukhbhai, I’m sure it wasn’t all that simple!
Mansukh- You’re right….there were many ups and downs. Something or the other
would invariably go wrong at every stage! But I didn’t give up……I
persevered…..I had set out to solve a problem……a problem that most
farmers in our country faced so I told myself that I must find a
solution.I continued working on it till I managed to create ‘santi’. Now
if you look around, you’ll find many ‘santis’!
Rahul---- Well, I’d like to see one in operation.
Mansukh- yes, yes, of course……it’d be my pleasure to show you one…..come
with me.
(change-over music)
(sound of a motorcycle in a field, going round & round)
Mansukh—(calling out)…arre bhai,….could you stop for a while?
(the motorcycle stops)
Mansukh—Namaste Haribhai,……sorry to disturb you…..meet Rahul, he works
for a newspaper in Ahmedabad; Rahul, meet Haribhai.
( both of them greet each other)
Haribhai--- Many journalists keep coming to interview our Mansukhbhai….
…he’s a genius!
Mansukh—Ok,ok,….enough of that. Just show the various uses that you can put
Santi to, on your farm.
Haribhai--- Oh of course…..see, any implement can be attached to this toolbar
here. I can attach a small implement for digging a naali/drain…..
see I was ploughing the field just now………by attaching this small
implement…..I can remove weeds that spoil our crops!
Rahul----- Amazing!
Haribhai—And that’s not all……we’re using ‘bullet santi’ for sprinkling
pesticides, insecticides etc……can’t tell you how much difference
it has made to our lives. All these jobs used to take a long time ……
….now they get done in no time…phataphat!
Rahul-- that is really great!....but can you tell me bhaiyya, how long it takes
you to plough a one-acre farm with its help……and how much diesel is
spent?
Haribhai- It takes just half an hour for ploughing with the help of bullet santi…
….and as for diesel required,…well 2 litres would be sufficient.
Rahul--- That’s not much…..its quite reasonable then.
Haribhai- Yes, yes, for us its quite affordable .And you know, its coming in
very handy for removing weeds. It can clear up weeds from a
ten hectare field…..the cost comes to just eight rupees per hectare,
you know.
Rahul---- This is quite revolutionary.
Haribhai- ( with a laugh) yes, yes, a revolution brought about by Mansukhbhai
…..( everybody laughs).Not just our village, but the entire district is
proud of him……villages in far off places have benefitted from his
work. He’s become a hero!
Mansukh- Now stop it bhaiyya.
Rahul---- He’s absolutely right…..I believe you’ve got a patent for bullet santi
from India as well as from America.
Mansukh- That is true but shall I tell you something? A lot of the credit should
really go to the National Innovation Foundation. They’ve really put
in a lot of work. There was so much paper work …….they helped
me through it ….I couldn’t have done all this paper work myself.
Haribhai- We are happy because the bullet santi has been extremely useful to
the small farmer. Can we ever afford to buy a tractor?
Rahul---- That is mansukhbhai’s major achievement –his innovation is
benefitting the small farmer about whom nobody had thought earlier.
Haribhai- precisely!
Mansukh-( with a laugh) there ‘s now a younger sister of santi. You must see
it functioning too now that you’re here.
Rahul---- and what is that?
Haribhai- yes, Mansukhbhai has converted a cycle into a tricycle which helps
us farmers to spray different kinds of chemicals in the field.
Rahul--- why, of course, I’d like to see it.
Mansukh- Haribhai, can you take him along to Raghu’s farm….I saw him
spraying something in his field, while I was coming here. I have to
attend to something urgent, otherwise I’d have taken him myself.
Haribhai-anything for you, Mansukhbhai, no problem.
(changeover music)
( sound effect of a field being sprayed by some chemicals)
Haribhai- Namaste, Raghubhai……hey,… can you stop for a minute? …Don’t
you see I have a guest with me?...Rahul here has come to meet you.
Raghu—don’t get angry my friend…….(with a laugh) here, I’ve
stopped.
Haribhai- Raghu, meet Rahul, he’s come to our village to interview
Mansukhbhai. Mansukhbhai showed him the bullet santi and then
sent him over to you so that he can see the converted bicycle in use!
Rahul--- Namaste bhaiya.
Raghu-- Namaste….aapka swagat hamare gaon mein!.......see, this here is an
ordinary cycle and all these attachments are what Mansukhbhai has
put so that a farmer can go around his field on a bicycle sprinkling
pesticides & insecticides or any other liquid.
Haribhai- It only takes a quarter of an hour to spray a one-acre field. It saves
a lot of time and energy…..
Rahul--- Great!....and what are all these here?
Raghu—Rahulbhai, this is a tank for filling up with whatever has to be sprayed
…..see this chain?.....and this one is small gear…..the chain goes
around it…. and this lever here works the pump when the cycle
moves around.
Haribhai-…look at this, Rahulbhai, this thing here needs to be adjusted
depending on how much needs to be sprayed.
Rahul--- Amazing! Mansukhbhai must’ve worked very hard before all these
simple devices could actually work!
Haribhai- Yes, he has a sharp mind. But I must tell you another thing, Rahulbhai.
All these attachments can be taken out and, when one wants to spray
the field, they can once again be attached to the bicycle!
Raghu-- (interrupting)When you don’t need a pump, remove it and it’s once
again the good old bicycle.
(laughter)
Rahul-- This really is ‘thinking out of the box’…..hats off to Mansukhbhai!
Haribhai- Rahulbhai, I wonder if Mansukhbhai told you that both the ‘ bullet
Santi’ and this cycle sprayer have been awarded by the National
Innovation Foundation.
Raghu-- Not only that. You know, Mansukhbhai has also travelled abroad…..
demonstrating how his ‘bullet santi’ and the cycle sprayer work. He
is a genius, he is.
Rahul--- What he has done is remarkable. Farmers all over the country are
benefitting from his ingenious work.
Raghu--- Since you are here, you can try riding the cycle sprayer and see for
yourself ….its not at all cumbersome as you might think.
(appropriate sound effects as Rahul rides around on the bicycle spraying
insecticide like Raghu)
Anchor—Kudos to Mansukhbhai. He thought out of the box and came out
with a simple, affordable solution. Many of us get great ideas , but
do not put in the hard work and do not have the perseverance to go
on till a proper solution is found. There are, however, many among
us who chase their dreams---who do not give up once they set out
to look for a solution. And that is how society progresses.
In Belgaum district of Northern Karnataka, Annasaheb
Udagawi is one such innovator who thought out of the box; he could
not accept the fact that large areas of our country have a scarcity of
water & large amounts of water is wasted while irrigating crops. He
has come out with a device that can sprinkle water in the fields. He has
named it ‘Chandraprabha Rain-Gun’!
Our Agriculture correspondent Sandeep visited Sandala village
and caught up with Annasaheb to see this water sprinkler himself. So,
now it’s over to Sandala village with Sandeep .
Sandeep- In Sandala village, this is Sandeep reporting live…..as you can see on
your television screens, there are some farmers busy working
….I’ve just spotted one of them using a sprinkler to water his field of
sugarcane…….this, I presume , is the Chandraprabha rain-gun…let
me find out.(calling out) Bhaiya, this seems to be a rather good
sprinkler…… is this one of Annasaheb’s?....what is it known as?
Farmer I—You’re asking this question since you’re new to our village. In
Sandala village, nobody uses any other sprinkler! This is Annasaheb’s
‘Chandraprabha Rain-Gun’. Apart from being cheap, it irrigates well..
so we’re all using this sprinkler now.
Sandeep- Ok. Can you tell me what are its special features?
Farmer--- Everything is special about this ….look here, I have a field that
(2)
is spread over 1 acre….one rain gun is enough for irrigating it…..the
cost of one is three thousand five hundred rupees.
Sandeep—(interrupting)….but you also need a pipe and other attachments.
Farmer--- Let me finish…..you journalists always go at top speed…like the
(2)
Toofan Express!
(everbody laughs)
Farmer--- For this , we have to lay a 3- inch wide PVC line and riser pipe…
(2)
the cost adds up to rupees 15,000.
Farmer-- (interrupting)…now, now! He’s educated. He knows his additions.
(1)
You should be telling him about its other benefits apart from
irrigation.
Sandeep- What’s that? Please tell me.
Farmer—The pipe is 3-inches broad & the nozzle too is rather broad, therefore
(2)
we can use it for spraying liquid fertilizers as well. A farmer is saved
a lot of drudgery .
Farmer—Another thing, my friend. Since the water comes out at great pressure,
(1)
small insects like ‘Mahu’ simply get washed away. We need not
pollute the soil by using chemicals!
Sandeep- So, this has multiple benefits!
Farmer—Bhaiyya, this is the hallmark of Sandla village ! ( everybody laughs)
(2)
Sandeep—So now you know, listeners, how happy the farmers of Sandla village
are with the Chandraprabha rain-gun…..and as I move around the
village , I can see many more of these in use……..and now, on my
right is a field with tobacco plants, which is also being irrigated with
the help of one of these sprinklers!
But now I’ve reached Annasaheb’s house. Shall we step in
and find out how he first got the idea of making this sprinkler? As
you can see, he’s sitting surrounded with farmers.
Namaskar, Annasaheb…..I’ve come to find out how you started
working on the sprinkler….what gave you the first idea Annasaheb?
Annasaheb- It’s a long story……way back in 1985…..those days I used to grow
‘paan’ on my fields….but there was an acute shortage of water; I
took some pvc pipes that are used for distribution of electricity…..
made some holes in them and started using them for irrigating the
fields.
Sandeep-- ….you mean, you created the drip system for watering the fields?
Probably no one had heard about drip irrigation those days!
Annasaheb- (with a laugh) ….even I didn’t know….well, I could irrigate my
two hectare land at a cost of thirty five thousand rupees!
Sandeep—Ok…….but isn’t that a bit expensive?
Anna------ It is, but look at the benefit. It took me just an hour to water my field
……..this is how I watered my field for seven years. Then of course,
some labour problems started and …….also, the price of paan started
falling.
Sandeep--- So now, have you stopped growing paan?
Anna------ Yes, what could I do? After that, I grew tobacco in my field…..then
took to sugarcane……but irrigating the fields was always a
challenge. These plants have a thick foliage…..irrigating them,
sprinkling them with insecticides & pesticides is always a problem…
Sandeep—So, then what did you do? Did you give up growing sugarcane also?
Annasaheb-(interrupting him)…..no, no, didn’t stop growing sugarcane….applied
my mind , took up the challenge. I told myself that it wouldn’t do to
give up on any crop. After all, I’ve to earn a living through agriculture.
So first, I looked at an ordinary sprinkler…… understood how it
works and then tried modifying it. And sure enough, I came out with
a sprinkler that is most appropriate for sugarcane crop.
Sandeep- Annasaheb, you must’ve spent a long time experimenting………you
Must’ve had some setbacks too.
Annasaheb- Absolutely right. First I designed a sprinkler with wood and then
got one made in an iron foundry……then when I field-tested it, I found
that it wouldn’t work till I’d made several changes in it. It was a long
time before I could use it.
Sandeep- Can you tell us about some of the modifications you made?
Annasaheb-yes, of course, why not? Let me show you….. I’ve kept a sprinkler
there in the shed --precisely to show to you journalists. Come, we’ll
have to go there.
Sandeep—yes, let’s go. (they walk down a few steps)…
Annasaheb-Here, take a look…..I’ve put an additional weight of 400 gms. on this
so that this crank shaft can move smoothly…….and see this small
groove here?
Sandeep- yes,I can…..did you modify this also?
Annasaheb-Yes. This groove is rather important…..it allows us to fix different
sizes of nozzles…..& you see, nozzles with different dimensions
allows us to sprinkle water at different distances. Sometimes the crop
requires less water, so then we can sprinkle less water.
Sandeep—That is rather useful.
Annasaheb- yes, but that’s not all. This lock here is very interesting.
Sandeep-- what would it do ? Is it meant to make sure that nobody steals your
sprinkler ?
Annasaheb- (with a laugh)…no, no, no. No such thing…….this locking system
ensures that water does not go to the neighbour’s field.
Sandeep- amazing!....this really is called ‘thinking out of the box’. What an
Innovation!
Annasaheb- that’s the reason we’ve given it a new name….I call it the
‘Chandraprabha Rain Gun’.
Sandeep—Chandraprabha sure has some great qualities.
Annasaheb- it’s an answer to all our irrigation problems.
Sandeep- (adopting the style of a reporter)….and now, I’m returning from
Sandala village after having met one of the many grassroots level
innovators of our country. I salute all such brave souls who find
solutions to their everyday problems.
(changeover music)
Anchor—Like you saw in the case of Mansukhbhai and Annasaheb, with a
little bit of fresh thinking, they are solving many problems which
farmers have lived with for centuries. Such innovators need to be
recognized and encouraged. Their innovations must reach a larger
population so that more people benefit from it. The National
Innovation Foundation is doing commendable work in this area.
You are presently listening a programme on Grass root Innovations which is
developed jointly by All India Radio,Vigyan Prasar, Noida and National Innovation
Foundation Ahemedabad. If you did any such innovation for the benefit of the
society then you can share this idea on following address:
National Innovation Foundation
Bungalow No:1
Satellite Complex
Premchand Nager
Ahemedabad-380015
Now is the time for questions based on the serial
Question 1
Question 2
You can send your answers on following address:
All India Radio
Post Box No:
Sansad Marg New Delhi
Answers will be declared in the next episode and names of the winner will be
announced in the last episode of the serial. So hurry up and send your entries as
early as possible and get attractive prizes from Vigyan Prasar, Noida.
Till then bye-bye
Credits
Title song
Closing Song
Two questions to be asked:
1.Which are the functions that ‘bullet santi’ is capable of performing?
2.Which problem did Annasaheb’s Chandraprabha Rain Gun
solve? Also,name the crop that he was growing when he first started
working on the sprinkler?