Notable inventions discovered by Indian professor



These are just a few of the other innovations Anil Gupta has found on his Shodh Yatra week-long treks through rural India.

Cotton harvester

Nattubhai Vader, a farmer from the state of Gujarat, invented a special cotton harvester that fits over a tractor after watching women and children performing the slow grueling work of harvesting an especially troublesome variety of cotton.

Coconut plucker

The late farmer MJ Joseph, also known as Appachan, had only a fourth grade education but was still able to create a device for climbing coconut trees to harvest the fruit.

Water walkers

Dwarka Prasad had heard about a fraudster holy man who claimed he could walk on water. Intrigued, he designed special water walking shoes that would allow the wearer to walk or skate across a lake.

Perpetual paintbrush

Jahangir Ahmad devised an electric paintbrush that pumps paint from a hose directly to the brush and never needs to be dipped into a can.

Water tires

Farmers in the state of Madhya Pradesh brushed aside tractor salesmen who were trying to sell them expensive weights to help their tractors work the thick, hard soil there. Instead, they filled the tires with water, making the tractors heavier for a minimal cost.

Leg-powered washing machine

High school student Remya Jose was forced to do laundry by hand when her mother got sick because her family had no washing machine. So she invented a washing machine/exercise bike that is cheap to make and requires no electricity.

Aloe vera gel maker

Dharamveer Kamboj made a tabletop machine that can cheaply make aloe vera gel from aloe leaves.

Well pulley

Amrit Agrawat wanted to help the women in his village who were struggling to pull heavy water buckets from a well so he made a pulley with a brake to let the women rest midway through their labor.

The biog

Born: High Wycombe, England

Favourite vehicle: One with solid axels

Favourite camping spot: Anywhere I can get to.

Favourite road trip: My first trip to Kazakhstan-Kyrgyzstan. The desert they have over there is different and the language made it a bit more challenging.

Favourite spot in the UAE: Al Dhafra. It’s unique, natural, inaccessible, unspoilt.

Temple numbers

Expected completion: 2022

Height: 24 meters

Ground floor banquet hall: 370 square metres to accommodate about 750 people

Ground floor multipurpose hall: 92 square metres for up to 200 people

First floor main Prayer Hall: 465 square metres to hold 1,500 people at a time

First floor terrace areas: 2,30 square metres  

Temple will be spread over 6,900 square metres

Structure includes two basements, ground and first floor 

The specs: 2019 Haval H6

Price, base: Dh69,900

Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder

Transmission: Seven-speed automatic

Power: 197hp @ 5,500rpm

Torque: 315Nm @ 2,000rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km

Skewed figures

In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458. 

The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young

Test

Director: S Sashikanth

Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan

Star rating: 2/5