Others Said No, He Says Nano: Ratan Tata Drives The One-Lakh Talk, Pulls Off A One In A Billion Coup

New Delhi: Outside, the eager crowd reminds you of a cricket stadium before an ODI game. Big securitymen form an uncompromising barricade with a thick rope. Finally, they see reason and relent.

Once inside, the conduct of the guards is easier to understand. There are already enough people inside to make a politician happy, if he was delivering an election speech. Standing out in the crowd is a bored leggy blonde in a shimmering silver dress leaning by a bright red car. At the moment, few, if any, are looking at her.

For what everybody has gathered to see at Hall No 11 in Pragati Maidan is not just another small car. They come to see hope emerge on wheels. For this ‘lakhtakia' car, as the man on the street has already named it, has enabled millions to dream of a life beyond the motorbike. And, to the discerning observer, has the potential of changing the demography of car ownership in India.

As Ratan Tata himself would say later in the day, it was the image of a lower-middle-class man on a scooter — the elder kid standing in front of the driver-father and the wife riding pillion with a baby on her lap — that kept playing on his mind. "Why can't this family own a car?" Tata's Rs 1 lakh car project was the outcome of that nagging image that kept tugging at his soul. Yet sceptics had wondered disbelievingly, even laughed, at his daring and passion. The Thursday launch was the moment of truth.

In the hall, plenty of firangs float around in dark suits lugging laptops. The seats are all taken. The stage is huge. The lights are low. And the floor has a blue-green tinge. You almost expect a Bollywood troupe to jump out and boogie to foot-stomping tracks.

None of that. First, a short, crisp recorded speech of Tata is played on a screen. He praises his colleagues, takes a crack at detractors such as the Suzuki boss who had predicted in 2006 that the car wasn't possible. Thundering applause comes when Tata says the car has ample safety features. And that it will be environment-friendly.

Then the curtain rises. As he drives on to the stage in a cream Nano, the audience gasps. First impression: small is beautiful. "Some people said that we should call it a ‘Buddha car', while others said that we should call it ‘Mamata' or ‘Despite Mamata'. We decided we will call it ‘Nano'," says Tata, drawing laughter from the crowd. "But then, since it is high-tech and small, we called it Nano." Then he adds: "The car will be priced at Rs 1 lakh. A promise is a promise."

Big wow for small car

New Delhi: After talking to those who turned up on the first day for a dekko, one feels that the car is like a multi-layered movie that means different things to different people. Young Mohit Saluja's businessman father has three cars, including a Honda Civic.

But he has already fallen for the cool and cute toy. "It could be an alternative bike for guys like me. These days college-going kids pester parents for a car. This is a car they can afford to gift to their kids," he says.

Neel Kamal takes a bus to her office in Supreme Court. "I never thought we could afford a second car. But this is affordable and it gives good mileage. So one can think about it," she says.

There are others—some with three, even four cars, who now want a Nano. Simply because they have the money to indulge. Faridabad car dealer Gulshan Kharbanda feels the car will fetch a decent premium of at least Rs 20,000 in its initial phase. Mohan Singh, a staffer at the Crafts Museum, is convinced the car is made for him. "I have a Pulsar bike which cost Rs 62,500. I'll sell it and buy this car because the family will be able to travel together in it. It's mileage is also good, so running costs wouldn't be high."

But for Manu Lal, a migrant from Bihar's Motihari district, the ‘lakhtakiya' car is still a bridge too far. "I am an electrician. I earn Rs 6,000 a month. I am barely able to send anything back home. A cycle is OK. But to spend Rs 1 lakh is like Mungeri Lal ke haseen sapne."

Nano: Dictionary meaning, one billionth of a unit