What An Idea, Sirji!

Necessity is the mother of invention it's said. Desperate measures and desperate times give birth to some of the most incredible ideas, and some of the most fascinating. While I can't deny the theory, which suggests the antipodal - pay people enough to take the issue of money off the table, there are always individuals or a group of individuals for whom money continues to be a distant dream and yet, these individuals come up with some of the most ingenious ideas.  

This picture of the chassis of an auto-rickshaw converted into a live dosa counter is the second I've seen in the last eight weeks. One in Kormanagala is fitted with a digital display flashing names of the most creative dosas one can imagine. Mysore masala cheese dosa. Paneer masala. Chinese dosa. Pav bhaji dosa. Green peace dosa. Mushroom dosa. As the name suggests there are 90 varieties here. Like the new cable generation. I toh obviously had the cheese dosa at the Indiranagar auto counter. Like the good 'ol Bombay days. 

The batter, the chutneys, the chilli powder are all Bombay-style. Kya kahoon. Majja aa gaya. Reminded me of pretty much every lunch outside college. If not the cheese vegetable sandwich at the sandwich wala, it was the dosa, at least for two years. A bit of Bombay has come to Bangalore. 

But the thing is this counter. I mean, imagine companies and hotels would spend hours of research and monies to come up with an out of the box idea like this one. Plus, they would spend some unaccountable amounts to market it. That the heads spent on this endeavour would be throwing ample daru parties at the success of a venture like this is something I have no doubt about.

A few years back, in Bangalore's khao galli, yes yes, that's what it's called, had one such cart with a television, a moveable fan, a radio, and the like all carefully propped into that tiny space to ensure when the cart owner worked, he worked leisurely. Another auto had a television stuck behind his seat for passengers to enjoy. But these are just a handful of examples. Take groundwater revival projects in Rajasthan and dry parts of Maharashtra for instance. Using bicycles to plough or draw water. The list can go on and on with one idea more fascinating than the other. And all without incentive of money or fifteen minutes of fame.

Maybe ideas also come from the need to feel the sense of ownership. Of autonomy. Or the innate human nature to dream, explore, discover...