Jobless, I was in the garage working on my bikes, having left my last profession as a travel and automotive writer in disgust after not being paid for my published works for over 6 months. A neighborhood PCO owner called, saying two men claiming to be from the then newly built IIT Guwahati were looking for me, further adding, they were very disrespectful and that I should send them packing. The duo were from India's National Innovation Foundation, a government organization promoting grass-root innovators, looking for the Bullet Innovator. And if they seemed rude it was due to a school classmate who gave them my reference saying, "just ask anyone for the bike mad fellow, they will show you his house". The PCO owner was apparently not amused.
They
came to look at my twin spark plug Bullet which I converted in the mid
90s, about a decade before Bajaj Auto and years before Royal Enfield adopted
the technology. Upon seeing the bike and hearing how the compression
was also raised, the clutch modified and so on, they wanted to nominate
me for some award. I flatly refused, saying Triumph had the first
twin-spark bike racer way back in 1911 and Afla Romeo was using twin
plugs in their cars since the 70s. But, you are the first in India, they
argued and pursued the matter for some time, but I never relented,
saying I will be an imposter.
This episode however elevated me from the level of a tinkerer, amateur mechanic and a "Bike Mad fellow" to the leagues of Innovators.
Recently, I was invited to deliver a keynote address on Innovation, Sustainability and Green Tech,8th NE Green Summit at Itanagar, the Capital of the North-east Indian State of Arunachal Pradesh, which China also claims as its own. There instead of vomiting data copied from the internet and using cryptic or cliché terms so preferred by Climate and Sustainability Gurus, and Jhola Wallas, I chose to delve into the meaning of these words and to suggest technologies that can effect positive change in the North-eastern region of India.
However, while attending the seminar I right way decided that i just wasted 3 days of my life, I drew several other conclusions as well :
1. No matter how noble the idea behind the event, none of the discussions matter unless the policymakers and community leaders lend a patient ear to the domain experts, innovators and green tech entrepreneurs.
2. Cliché terms like attaining "Net Zero" or "Carbon Neutrality" are empty words unless providing definitive examples of technology or processes and their success stories along with the data.
3.
Pickles and wine, no matter how good tasting, like cane baskets, no
matter how intricately woven, are not examples of Innovation,
Sustainability, Green-Tech or Circular Economy.
4. That some money has been raised by brick and mortar businesses masquerading as Startups, is neither an indicator of their success, the health of the ecosystem, nor commitment towards green tech or sustainability.
5. To the Pundits from Metropolises who love to "grace" such sessions as VIP Guests spouting drivel like "Oh, the North-east are the lungs of India," that we need to eat, sleep Bamboo and live in Bamboo Huts, or become completely organic, I will suggest they look around erstwhile lush hill stations like Shillong or Bomdila and decide which cancer has afflicted these lungs or to take a look at Sri Lanka and her organic experiment.
Regarding
Bamboo, my team and I design and build advance Bamboo
Biocomposite vessels like Trimarans and Catamarans, along with ultra
light-weight and low-cost fishing and rescue boats.However, none of those so-called deep impact investors seem to have even a fleeting interest in our work when we mention it to them
Lastly,
gauging by the photographs of me speaking at the event, I am forced to admit that I seriously need to shed some
weight.
I think that is the most attainable short term sustainability goal I can strive for...
