A Kashmiri youth unveils his innovative genius through several simple devices addressing ordinary man's daily needs.
His persona does not reveal all that genius he possesses. The woollen Kashmiri cap that he dons, makes him just another face in the crowd. But Mushtaq Ahmad Dar is no ordinary youth from the Valley. Under the warm cap, he has a mind that works on 24/7 basis, ever churning out new ideas that could be turned into products that people need and use.
Mushtaq works with a passion to come up with new implements that would ease hardships of life by ordinary people. He has so far come up with small devices which speak of his innovative zeal buried under the plain exterior. Mushtaq has devised a walnut cracker, an almond cracker and a tree climber. Tools, implements and devices fascinated him since his childhood. He even looked around to find out as to what the people were looking for in order to carry on their life. The fruit plucking in walnut and almond orchards attracted his attention. The cumbersome process of extracting kernels of these fruit from hard shell set him on a quest. The shell breaking process often resulted in kernel getting minced and crushed which led to low yield.
First, he came up with a walnut cracker. It was a box like devices where fruit is fed through the top feeder. The fruits fall between two round wooden bolsters that are mechanically wound from outside. The shell gets crushed between the bolsters that revolve in opposite directions. However, the dry kernel comes out uncrushed from the output slit.
Mushtaq demonstrated his crackers at the University Science and Instrumentation Centre (USIC) of the Kashmir University. Initially the crude device had only 55 per cent efficiency. But subsequent effort has enabled him to achieve 88 per cent efficiency. It can even peel off skin from green (raw) walnuts. Walnut cracker is in great demand in Australia, China and Greece. Mushtaq has the dream of manufacturing his devices with a brand name and marketing them.
Impressed with his genius, National Innovation Foundation (NIF), Ahmedabad offered him a monthly fellowship of Rs. 10,000 for one year. Soon USIC of the Kashmir University took notice of the youth's innovative zeal and Centre Director G. M. Bhat got him another fellowship of Rs. 2,500 a month from the Gyan Cell. But for Bhat's interest and effort, perhaps Mushtaq may have been fiddling with his devices in obscurity.
Mushtaq recently came up with another amazing device that he has named 'tree climber'. It is light, and easily portable. It can be used on any round or flat surface, be it a pole or tree trunk. The simple device is capable of dispensing with the cumbersome ladder that workers in telephone or electricity departments have to often carry. Orchard owners can also deploy them for plucking of fruits.
The tree climber consists of two metal platforms that are fitted on either side of the trunk or pole. The user has to rest his feet on them by tying them to the platform by the help of straps. He is supposed to drag up each of them alternately while resting his foot on the other. In the process, he attains height with each move. A large leather belt allows him to provide rest to the body at frequent intervals against the trunk. It also serves as a safety belt that protects against falling off the pole or tree. The tree climber is being presently produced on a commercial scale by Indian Innovatics.
Mushtaq has a word of advice for budding innovators: Believe in yourself, be confident, accept assistance from wherever it comes and ease the hardship of the humanity. Mushtaq Ahmad Dar can be contacted at: 098583-57847.
 |
May 2009 |
