A tribute to the Tata Nano

The author is Puma...Automobile lover. Does not work for any TATA company

What else is left to say about the Nano, the One Lakh Rupee car, that hasn’t already been said, written, showed on TV and Blogged about, that I could possibly add to?
It would be as astonishing to hear as, hmmm… that if Megan Fox ran over me i`d still give her a back rub to calm her nerves .
I might even dare to say that it`s losing its steam as people have seen it splashed all over news channels and magazines, spoken about it endlessly and we all know that familiarity breeds boredom.
But I still can`t get over it and allow me to explain why…..

“IT COSTS ONE LAKH RUPEES”

Or in other words even lesser than the deposit of most cars (and I hear you say you get much lesser than most cars as well, but I’ll get to that in a bit)
I can think of so many things that would genuinely feel so much lesser in comparison as to this car. An honest ride in a vehicle in all weather situations, in safety and not having to breathe the air in our country (forgive me for calling it air, more like the stench of slow death).
You say you could get an Omega/Tag Heuer. You say could get a laptop with a 12 inch screen with Blue Ray DVD or TV`s for that same price and then just STOP…

Read that line again. Mobility/freedom over a watch or a DVD player??? (I don’t think so)….they say that the people who can afford a Tag would not look at this car. WHY THE HELL NOT??… I have a Tag and I’m booking it for sure for the simple fact that it gets me around the city economically and whenever I stop at the lights its not going to fall over (like a bike).
I`ll even contend here that the above stated items are things of desires as against necessities. But for 70% of this country and millions others elsewhere, this basic necessity is a dream. A dream which became a reality.
A reality of enjoying the rain with your wife and child. The reality of knowing that the chances of your loved ones surviving an accident (god forbid) just went up 50%, maybe…maybe more…and the cost of repairs wont be worse than having chosen death.

In a time dogged by ever increasing costs of fuel and subsequent material costs, you have a visionary/philanthropist like Mr. Ratan Tata (APPLAUSE) creating a vehicle accessible by one and all.
It has four doors and wipers for cleaning the windscreen. It has indicators and lights and four wheels with an exhaust that comes out the middle of the rear bumper. BEAUTIFUL. I liked it so much, that I planned to book it (and I have 3 big cars).

Why slam him for clogging up our streets? He`s not with the govt. He has taken responsibility for unclogging and possibly un-polluting our streets in a reliable vehicle which is frankly more than I can say for Rahul “let me squeeze every last buck” Bajaj`s autorickshaws and other products (I had a BAJAJ SAFFIRE … and yes u can laugh at me now). If Mr. Tata is responsible for every damn thing what is the municipal corporation and our politicians there for besides pointing a finger. Hell we all can point fingers pretty well too. Make me your next minister cuz I have a particular finger I’d like to point. If they really want to help make it tax free like u do movies with social messages in them.

This is the future whether you like it or not. It will sell whether you`re with it or not. And all you tree huggers pls read the specs. It is EURO 4 compliant. Go play in traffic or something cuz you have clearly no clue bout the stuff that’s worse than the Nano already out on our streets (which is absolutely everything else).
We`d never have voice activated, computer controlled, power houses for vehicles which are greener than Priuses “READ ALL NEW S CLASS” if we jut sat there thinking that the bicycle was all we`d ever need to get around.
I remember talking to a friend of mine who works for a German auto giant and he said he was called by his SHERMAN seniors to confirm the news of a car that costs as much as the Xenons on most of theirs . You have to let a shout out to Mr. Ratan Tata for that reason alone.
I would even be so bashfull as to compare it to a piece of automotive milestone, to the equally outstanding Bugatti Veyron (APPLAUSE). Both were met by skeptics who had to eat their shoes when they announced their projects. Both took 5 yrs from inception. Both were created by Visionaries sooo great that if you took out their soul you could light the planet.

The Veyron had to give the laws of physics a bloody nose and the Nano did the same with inflation and its detractors. Both dropped jaws when they were revealed and had the world salivating. One was the most expensive and one was the cheapest and mind you it takes a lot to drop prices as it does to raise it as well. Stuff isn’t cheap and you know that as much as I do. It’s the equivalent of saying that you`ll get a HOT MEAL for only Rs. 5 for the rest of your life and now you`ll never go hungry.
Mr. Ratan Tata has put the fear of God in his competitors and frankly from where I’m standing I see none for a loooooong time.

So salute it with the rest of the country/world for what the Nano is and what it has done to put us on the map and beat every other object on the wish list of people hoping to get one soon.
A Big promise for a Small car. A third world country but not a third grade product and I could think of no better words than Neil Armstrong`s to summarize what happened here with….

“ONE SMALL STEP FOR MAN,


ONE GIANT LEAP FOR MANKIND.”