Necessity is the mother of invention! This is the Jugadu indigenous ‘supervehicle’ of Tamil Nadu fishermen! This is the story of the ‘Mean Body Vandy’ three-wheeler

Many unique vehicles have been born in India out of local needs and ingenuity. A good example of this is the vehicle ‘Mean Body Vandi’ which plies the coast of Tamil Nadu. In Tamil, ‘Meen’ means fish and ‘Vandi’ means car. The local fishermen themselves have developed this vehicle to transport the fresh fish caught from the sea to the main market as quickly and safely as possible.

Design and creativity

A mean body vandi is primarily a Jugad three-wheeler vehicle. It uses the front end and engine of a motorcycle of any power, especially an old two-stroke like the Suzuki Max 100 or the Bajaj M-80. The engine is welded to a large iron trolley at the rear.

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The real feature of this car lies in its trolley design. As the fish are transported, the ice melts and creates salt water. If this water accumulates in the car, the iron can rust and the fish can also spoil. That is why this trolley has a special space for water to flow easily. Also, this trolley is provided with a strong suspension to prevent damage to the fish while traversing coastal roads and sand dunes.

economic and social importance

Fish is a highly perishable commodity. If it does not reach the market within 1-2 hours after leaving the sea, the fishermen suffer huge losses. Small fishermen cannot afford to hire a tempo or a large vehicle. At such times ‘Mean Body Vandi’ becomes very economical. This vehicle can navigate narrow lanes, beach sand and traffic jams at speed.

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Thousands of families in coastal areas of Tamil Nadu like Chennai, Cuddalore and Rameswaram depend on this vehicle for their livelihood. In today’s time when big companies are making expensive logistics vehicles, this ‘Mean Body Vandy’ built by Tamil Nadu fishermen out of their own needs is an amazing example of ingenuity in the Indian automobile world.