‘Jugaading Through Life’, presented by South Asian Salon, explores the deeply ingrained culture of ‘jugaad’ — India’s signature approach to problem-solving through resourcefulness and creativity. Moving beyond the idea of quick fixes, the exhibition frames jugaad as a legitimate design philosophy and social practice. Featuring interactive DIY workshops and hands-on activities, it invites participants to engage with this everyday ingenuity, celebrating a way of thinking that has shaped Indian life for generations.
At this point, ‘jugaad’ has become synonymous with the South Asian — particularly the Indian — experience. From a water pump powered by a bicycle to the low-cost drip irrigation system my father spent an entire Sunday setting up in his garden (following, of course, a random YouTube tutorial by an Indian uncle), India survives and thrives on ‘jugaad ’— an unconventional solution to a problem.
Because these ‘jugaadu’ solutions are quick and economical, they belong to the everyman. Walk into any Indian household or workplace, and you’ll find jugaad at play in some form or another. It also requires extreme levels of creativity and visualisation, while all these hot shot MBA fellows drone on and on about ‘out of the box’ thinking. The irony, of course, is that we’ve been building industries for generations on precisely that instinct.
Being jugaadu is about always seeking out solutions during times of adversity, and negotiating and making the most of the world and resources given to you. And even though ‘jugaad’ is often dismissed humorously — or worse, seen as makeshift and unreliable — it deserves to be recognised for what it truly is: a novel and inventive way of thinking.
To celebrate this in built system of deviation from the norm that we Indians practice daily, South Asian Salon presents ‘Jugaading Through Life’, an exhibition that presents ‘jugaad’ as something beyond just being a quick fix ingrained in the Indian ‘sabh chalta hai’ attitude but actually a design philosophy and social practice.
The exhibition will be open from 27th - 30th March, at Offset Projects in New Delhi, from 11am to 6 pm along with a weekend of ‘DIY workshops’ partnered with Kuttypress Studio. From a ‘Clay Character’ workshop where you can play with clay while coming up with your own ‘clay pal’ who you can take home, to a Stamp Making & Flipper Zine Workshop where participants will leave with 2-3 stamps and a flipper zine made by them.
Each workshop is designed to lean into the spirit of ‘jugaad’, with no strict rules, encouraging participants to let their imagination run wild, experiment freely, and discover inventive ways to create something uniquely their own. Because ‘jugaad’ emerges not just from personal experience, but also from shared cultural knowledge.
It is no secret that Indians have been ‘jugaading through life’ for centuries, and this exhibition is a celebration of that legacy. More importantly, while we often dismiss these hacks as temporary fixes, it’s worth recognising that such ‘quick solutions’ don’t come easily to everyone. They are a testament to our country’s culture of making do with every little scrap and bits and bobs we have, one that has, perhaps unconsciously, developed into a deeply coherent and, at times, highly technical philosophy of problem-solving.
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