Name : Kanak Gogoi
District & State : Kamrup, Assam
Category : Transport
Award : National
Award Function : 5th National Grassroots Innovation Awards
Award Year : 2009
Innovation Description
- IPR Status
Kanak Gogoi, since childhood, always had a dream and hobby to do things unique and different and innovate things for the betterment of humanity in a cost effective way. He started developing in 1996 after setting up a small garage at his home in Mathura Nagar, Guwahati. . From a businessman and product designer, Kanak has evolved into a serial innovator. Over the years, he has primarily developed transportation solutions encompassing air, land and water.
Background
Kanak (47) hails from Tekelbora village in North Lakimpur District of Assam. His father, Buduram Gogoi, worked as a clerk in the land reform department. Kanak completed his primary education and high school at Laluk. After his High School he went to Jorhat and joined the pre-university course. Dropping out of the course, he decided to stay back at Jorhat. To earn a living, he started collecting milk from villages around Jorhat and selling it in the city.
He continued the milk business for three years. He supplemented this income by doing other odd jobs. While working at various mechanical workshops in Jorhat, his thirst for technical knowledge increased. He spent his waking hours in experimentation and reading technical publications. In spite of being financially insecure, he had found a new confidence in his abilities. He started his own signboard workshop in rented premises. In the year 1986, Kanak’s hard work paid off and his signboard business earned good revenues. He diversified into the transportation business after investing in a taxi and matador. Unlike job work, this business experienced wild swings and needed social networking. Kanak could neither manage nor compete in this business and ended up in the red.
The news of his bankruptcy filtered back to his village. His parents got worried and asked him to come home for the second time. Kanak refused, as he was confident that he would live to fight another day. He sold all his belongings and shifted with one taxi to Guwahati. He was back to square one and now had to start things right from the scratch. After getting knocked about for some time, he settled down to be a general order supplier to various parties and government departments.
In 1996, Kanak married Manju, his good friend’s sister. His friend was a doctor who admired his zeal for innovations. His passionate zeal for innovations and unconventional non-commercial lifestyle created problems with his wife. It finally led to separation. Currently Kanak lives with his second wife at Guwahati and his four children from two marriages.