It is said that necessity is the mother of invention. If someone needs something for his work and it is not available, then man makes that thing with some idea or the other. As did Basant Kumar Chandrakar of Chhattisgarh. Basant Kumar, who runs a shop of Mungodi and Bhajiya in Gathula of Rajnandgaon district, has made ‘Mungodi / Bhajiya Making Machine’. Which he is not only using in his shop, but has also made and given it to many other people working as pakodas.
The Better India While talking to Basant said, “I have studied till 12th standard. After this, due to the poor financial condition of the house, he started looking for employment opportunities. After doing many different works started this Mungodi center about nine years ago. In the morning and evening many people come to my stall to have breakfast. It is working better than this. At the same time, I am also able to provide employment to two-three people. But in the initial days, I had to face many problems.
If not found in the market, then made it myself machine
Basant’s biggest problem was that he used to make Mungodi by hand, which takes time even if he doesn’t want to. But his shop is very crowded in the morning and evening. So, if there was any delay, the customers would go back. Basant says that the loss was happening only because the customer who had come had gone back. So he thought that some machine should be bought for making Mungodi or Bhajiya. You can make only one mungodi or bhajiya by hand at a time. But with the machine you can put many Bhajiyas/Mungodi in a pan at a time.
Basant Kumar says that he searched in the nearby market but could not find the Mungodi making machine for his shop. “I wanted a small machine that would be enough for my shop. But nothing like this was available in the market and the big machines that were available were all industrial level. So that you can make large quantities in very large quantities. So I thought why not do something myself. I have little knowledge of this type of work, so I decided to make my own Mungodi making machine.”
How to reach National Innovation Foundation?
Basant used to get up early every morning to work on this machine. After working for several months, he designed a Mungodi Making Machine about five years ago. Which he kept modifying for so many years and in the last year 2020, he finally made his best model. He said, “There are two parts to this machine. First of all, you can fill the batter in the mug at the bottom. Then press it with the upper part of it and from the hole made at the bottom, the mungodis are made in the pan. With this machine, you can easily prepare one kilogram of Bhajiya in 10 minutes.
The first model he designed cost about Rs 700 to build. In the year 2018, he got a chance to display this machine through the National Innovation Foundation at the India International Science Festival, Lucknow. He said, “I once searched the internet whether there is any such organization which promotes such small innovations. Then I came to know about the National Innovation Foundation. I posted them by writing down details about myself and my machine. After which a team came from their side and checked the machine and then I got a chance to go to Lucknow.
About 100 machines sold so far
Basant Kumar says that he had received a grant of Rs 25,000 from the National Innovation Foundation. With the help of which he was able to make machines to display at the festival and at the same time, he was also able to buy a good welding machine. With the help of this welding machine, it became very easy for him to modify his old Mungodi Making Machine. Also, he is working on many more ideas. For example, he has also made a cleaning machine to clean the garbage from the road.
However, this machine of his has not got much recognition. But his Mungodi making machine has so far reached about 100 other small and big shops or stalls. Many people come to his shop and through the customers many people in the area have come to know about his machine. That’s why other people, who work in making pakodas or mungodi, came to them and started ordering the machine. He sold about 80 machines of the first model he made and now has sold about 20 machines of the new model.
Make machines according to the needs of the people
Manish Sahu, who runs his own Mungodi and Bhajiya shop in Nagpur, says that he had bought this machine from Basant four years ago. “A relative of ours lives near Basant ji’s village. He told me about this machine and I got the machine made for my shop. Earlier it used to take 15-20 minutes to make a Kadhai Mungodi by hand, but now with the machine this work is done in five-ten minutes. Due to this our work has also increased. In the first day, only 10 kg of mungodi could be sold, but now we sell 40 kg of mungodi,” he said.
Basant Kumar says that he gives people according to their need by making Mungodi making machines. If you want to buy this machine from them then you can call them on 7000816817.
Editing – G N Jha
Also read: Farmer’s son’s invention: ‘Bag cum chair’ for sitting anywhere, anytime while traveling
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