I read an article written by a international UK journo in a local US newspaper about the Indian Tata Nano that had this me fired up since a week and half. Having read the article I was surprised that the West was starting to blame India for increases in pollution and were touting Nano as a "people’s polluter" instead of an affordable people’s car. I could imagine the jokes being cracked about the Nano by foreigners. The article stated that the jokes made by "super-sized" Americans/Canadians were the same when small cars like the Citroen were launched in Europe. I quote some of them here.
"How many engineers does it take to build a Nano?"
"Two - one to fold and the other to glue"
"How many people can fit in a Nano?"
"Four - Provided they all don’t inhale at the same time"
I read them and laughed - HA HA - the real joke is on you, Tata has done what GM, Ford, Toyota and Honda have failed at - This was pure patriotism and national pride at play. Sanity slowly took over as I read more on the subject -
The article also went on to say that it was double standards for people in US and UK to say that the car will have ill-effects on the global weather as Canadians and Americans have 477 cars per 100 people and Indians have 11 cars per 1000 people.
As everyone has a right to drive a car, if the planet can take so much green house gases, we should divide the total number of people by the total number of cars on the planet and then "ration" the total number of cars owned by each country. The article stated that Indians have a right to drive too!
As the article took India’s side, my patriotic feelings were satiated and I didn’t bother to write about it.
I recently read an article on Nano by a fellow MSian - "eNidhi" -(MSian sounds so much better than mouthshutter, doesn’t it?) He wrote in his article that the rich in India are denying the poor people the right to drive and are staking a claim to the roads for themselves. It was this statement that got me fired up again as this was the classic Indian political viewpoint at play. I started replying to him but then thought of just writing my take on the Nano as it will reach more eyeballs.
I disagree that it is a "rich denying the poor" attitude into play here.
Here is a question - how many people from the strata of society that will purchase a Nano - pay their taxes? However it is this strata of society that will be the first one to throw stones at buses and trains at the slightest provocation. But hold on - am I not doing the same thing as politicians - what will I achieve by finger pointing? Only further division. Let me stop and stifle the thought before it turns into one more controversy.
In case of the Nano - It is not a question of the rich denying anyone anything - but more a question of the intelligent few thinking about millions. Lets take the money factor completely out of the equation - Because by bringing the money factor into play, we will only pit the rich against the poor and cause a divide in the minds of people - our discussions should not be aimed at divide and conquer - lets leave that to the Brits who have done it in the past and to our politicians who are continuing that legacy. Let us try to address the real issues at hands without raking up controversies.
It is indeed heartening to see so many internet bloggers and print-media writers vehemently standing up for the millions of people who support and contribute to the country and to society by providing a plethora of services. Case in point - Ask any housewife or a single person staying away from parents - the maid/cook makes the lives of so many people easier every single day. Such is her contribution to our everyday lives, we would love to see her in a Nano and feel happy for her. But we would also want her to be completely satisfied with the car because she will be investing a significant part of her household income into the vehicle.
I am very happy that Tata has achieved success with the car and has done what world renowned auto companies have not been able to do. However, it will be foolish to just go ga-ga over the Nano’s "success" without having a balanced view about safety and traffic conditions. Will Nano’s flimsy frame and sheet metal protect the lives of their owners in case of a crash - the nano with its puny engine might be traveling slow, but it can still be hit by other vehicles at high speeds. What about the safety of people inside Nano in the event of an accident? Their life is equally important as a rich Indian or an American, European or a Canadian(I wont speak about Aussies, because they hold less value in my eyes after the bhajji incident). How fast can a 33 BHP engine propel 4 people on the roads - have we thought about that? What about navigating flyovers and expressways? How will it affect the average speed of traffic-flow? What about road space, traffic congestion, pollution and parking - these are the four things that every car owner will have to deal with every time they fire-up their engines. What about the mental effect on scores of people as they sit frustrated in a state of permanent traffic gridlock!
All these questions merit a thought - as the car may be cheap, but the hidden cost in the above questions is additional and will be borne by the rich and poor alike.
The attractive price of the vehicle will make the car ownership easier and put it within the reach of millions, but the big question is - Will they be able to truly enjoy their cars and get satisfaction from it or will it just be an empty tick mark in their lists of things to own without being truly satisfied with their purchase?
Tata has achieved its personal tick mark by manufacturing the Nano and giving the world an affordable people’s car that many think is perhaps a little too affordable - whether its a jewel in the crown or just smoke in the tailpipe - only time will tell after a few years! Till that time I do recommend the Nano out of sheer patriotism and because it will help avoid situations shown in the attached picture.
However in the long run, I prefer to choose the World over India because the air we breath and the oceans we share cannot be controlled by geographical boundaries. It is because of this reasoning that I now wish Tata challenges Japan’s punctual train system next and gives them a run for their money by providing the 2nd level cities like Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Surat, Baroda, Chandigarh, etc with an equally efficient mass commuting system that focuses on comfort and efficiency and is not merely a people mover box on rails!
Once its success is tested in those cities, it’s benefits can be realized by Metros like Bombay - Delhi - Madras - Calcutta who cannot afford such experiments. This will benefit tens of millions of people everyday instead of just the mere lakhs who will own and drive a Nano only on weekends - provided they have space available on the roads. It will also not raise so many questions and controversies and distract people from increasing the national GDP.