Nano mania , join the Tata Car lovers club

Nano, Nano and Nano it is Nano all the way . After a long time the latest car launched by Tata with this name tag has given the nation something to be collectively happy about. Cheaply priced people’s car has been a favourite piece of allurement which generations of Indian politicians have offered to the middle classes. The dream nearly died after Sanjay Gandhi the prodigal son of the then Indian Prime Minister hijacked the small car project for personal gains. Several years later with changed management set up in Maruti Udyog Ltd. the first truly small car Maruti 800 hit the Indian markets with a price tag below fifty thousand rupees. Riding on the economic boom following the liberalization of Indian economy , for a substantial period upper middle class families enjoyed the comfort of a car based on latest generation technology and having a stylish appearance as per contemporary standards . With the still growing prosperity of Indian middle class the closing decade of the previous millennium saw the car market flooded with numerous new brands and styles and the people’s car became a forgotten concept . Then one day Ratan Tata returned to the concept with a product which could be affordable to the lower middle class, student or any two wheeler owner. Nano is said to be based on that vision of Tata for this segment of Indian population.

Launch of Nano means different things for different people. While the dissentors in West Bengal are upset over the loss of the agriculture in Singur and want the car to remain invisible which is said to be the Bengali meaning of the word Nano, the Gujrati Bhais consider it as the ideal gift for the their youngsters because in their language nano is akin to nanua meaning the younger one. Bangloreans facing the chaotic traffic which has supposedly gripped the city after the spurt of IT Companies, are a bit shaky with a new cheap car entering the market. The city traffic authorities are gearing up to meet the “ threat” with improvement in public transport system !

Leading Banks have already started the loan campaigns. Three wheeler operators see an opportunity to dump their TSRs in favour of the new product, but they also see a threat to business due to possibility of increase in number of car owners. The dealers expecting jump in demand are also concerned about the low margins.

Outside the country in the US the product launch in Delhi auto expo received huge media attention. Car enthusiasts have grudgingly acknowledged the feat of an Indian manufacturer producing a truly low budget car with latest feature, however the bloggers in Canada seem to be more keen to highlight the supposed adverse environmental impact of the car. Some of them are not willing to accept the claims of manufacturers on security aspect and feel that they would not drive even up to the corner grocery shop in this “pancake” ! In UK Tata's small car has become the talk of the town in London . It is getting big publicity, being called “……a miracle on wheels, a car a generation ahead of its' predecessors and a revolution in the small car market.” Europeans are fond of small cars and Nano reminiscent of VW Beetle may turn out to be quite popular.

For the collaborating spare parts manufacturers the project has been a consistent struggle to meet the deadlines maintaining highest standards of craftsmanship. The ultimate outcome may be quite rewarding for them when more car manufacturers join the segment an look out for manufacturers of accessories . However the dedication and vision of Ratan Tata is universally acknowledged as the driving force for the success.

Thank God the Series is on

Cricket fans rattled by the name calling controversy in Indo Australian cricket series for Border Gavaskar trophy finally have something to cheer about. The series will continue and Harbhajan will perhaps be allowed to continue for the team. The fact that a match of Cricket -the gentleman's game could raise so much of heat and dust is a disturbing trend and all possible efforts should be made to check the declining standards of players' behaviour. The recent incident has shown that ignorance over cultural background and sensitivities of the rival teams can lead to very unpleasant developments on field and off the field also. It was seen as to how an act of small indiscretion can pose threat to the series and could have cost both the countries heavily by way of financial losses . There is thus a definite need for grooming the players on behavioural aspects . The silver lining in the entire episode was that Australian media was impartial and supported cause of fairplay.

Thank God the Series is on

Cricket fans rattled by the name calling controversy in Indo Australian cricket series for Border Gavaskar trophy finally have something to cheer about. The series will continue and Harbhajan will perhaps be allowed to continue for the team. The fact that a match of Cricket -the gentleman's game could raise so much of heat and dust is a disturbing trend and all possible efforts should be made to check the declining standards of players' behaviour. The recent incident has shown that ignorance over cultural background and sensitivities of the rival teams can lead to very unpleasant developments on field and off the field also. It was seen as to how an act of small indiscretion can pose threat to the series and could have cost both the countries heavily by way of financial losses . There is thus a definite need for grooming the players on behavioural aspects . The silver lining in the entire episode was that Australian media was impartial and supported cause of fairplay.

Benazir, Rajiv, Indu we miss you !

Matrix trilogy a series of films which brought to the viewers a glimpse of future controlled by computer generated soft wares is among my all time favourite movies . The thrill of imaging the unlimited potential of a computer controlled virtual world however concludes with certain philosophical observations . One such conclusion or lesson which emerges from the movie is that even the best computer programme can go horribly wrong . In the movie a virtual character in form of humanoid created through a computer programme named as Smith develops an instinct to reproduce itself in order to overpower it’s opponents. Smith subsequently in the process becomes a threat to the virtual world known as Matrix and it’s creator.

While watching a rerun of the movie it suddenly occurred to me as to how close the storyline fitted with pattern of events which have occurred in this subcontinent in last several decades . I do not know whether politicians like Benazir Bhutto get an opportunity to see such movies. Rajiv Gandhi and Indira Gandhi were victims of their own Smiths much before the Movie was released. But one can wonder just wonder whether any political leader ever contemplated the possible effects of the Smiths created by them becoming a threat to themselves. Off course CIA regularly eliminates it’s Smiths once they appear to be over stepping their limits.

But how sad it is to see the common thread running through the ghastly elimination of three top leaders of Indo Pak subcontinent. Indira Gandhi the shrewdest prime minister that India had after Nehru, failed to foresee the risk of backing certain aggressive elements in the Sikh community and therefore ended up antagonizing the whole community at one stage. Rajiv Gandhi champion of cause of Tamils in Sri Lanka and darling of crowds in South had to pay for his misjudgment for the Sri Lankan misadventure . And now Benazir daughter of East who overlooked the resurgence of hardliners during her regime as Prime Minister seems to have been made to pay for the indiscretion when the seeds nurtured during her rule seem to be overtaking every thing under militant form of religion.

I wish these charming and sophisticated leaders , of modern era , although lacking the formal training into school of political science could have been sincerely and forcefully advised by other mature politicians around them in such sensitive matters. These leaders had the capability to understand repercussions if they were properly guided. Sadly it could not happen and the world lost three extraordinary humans with so much potential untapped. The political scenario in the Sub Continent would have been so much richer with their presence.

Wow! Molestation at Mumbai !

Wow ! TV channels have again had a scoop. An urban city photographer has clicked a roll on indecent behavior towards women outside a five star hotel at Mumbai. So now let everyone come out. A panel discussion on psychology of urban youth and reasons for their rowdy behaviour is a must for all kinds of media channels. The defenders of Bhartiya Sabhyata and Sanskriti can have a field day protesting out side police headquarters. The ever active female rights champion actress ( despite having usurped the conjugal rights of another women in her private life) must grab the opportunity to condemn the male psyche and inefficiency of police. In the meanwhile the TV channels must go on flashing the “shameful” incident shamelessly every 10 minutes. The enterprising photographer.. the man behind the heroic act can also pass on some pics to bloggers so that they can also open respective show windows on the erratic behaviour of the crowd by displaying the exciting pictures while taking a moralistic stand on public humiliation of women.

The Police Chief has to rise to the defence of his men citing various statistics to minimize the impact of adverse media publicity . He has to be proactive , so that he may not be required to ask his men as to why they failed to catch the goons on spot despite all bandobust in the name of new year’s eve. Police Commisioners and residents of other metros can take consolation from the fact that it was not their metro which was in limelight this time for the wrong reasons. The metro of Delhi can at least temporarily forget the shame of various daylight abduction and assault cases of recent past. It can also take pride in the fact that it’s mobs attacked two lecherous sons of a union minister who were indulging in eve teasing .

As the investigation proceeds further the victims are found to be NRIs , so the entire nation can feel relieved to some extent on the assumption that it must have been flashy foreigner like clothes of the NRIs which provoked the crowd into beastly behaviour and the logical assumption can also be used explain the inaction on part of other “good men” in the crowd who did nothing to help the victims.

As for the victims they can take consolation from the fact that the “cop car” ( as they refer to the police Gypsy) was in the vicinity of the scene of crime and they were rescued in time. Hopefully, they are aware that their motherland has a very exciting track record of humiliating the mothers and sisters of the nation. Crimes like mass assault on women in Nandigram , Gujrat or in North East have remained unpunished under our legal system . They may also pray to God that media may soon discover some other hot news item quickly so that repeat of the painful incident after every ten minutes is put to an end.

There is another group of stakeholders which in entangled this mess .. it is the group of middle class parents of the perpetrators of the assault who must be wondering as to where the upbringing of their children went wrong. While their respective domestic debates can go on endlessly ,they can however draw some consolation from the fact that Lalu Prasad Ji is perhaps afflicted with similar thoughts right now after thrashing of his sons by the a Delhi mob for eve teasing .

So,how much land do you have ?

All men are born equal but they don’t stay as such . A very correct philosophical statement. I feel like using it with some modification for those in govt jobs. As a bunch of youngsters you along with batch mates go into the jobs at the same point of time. For some years you stay as a close knit group sharing your joys and sufferings. Joining marriage of colleagues and the celebrating birthdays of newborns remains a regular feature of your social life for some years . But with passage of time the sense of oneness is gradually diminished as different individuals chart out different paths for their journey of life , based on respective interpretation of human values. The equality as individuals is no longer there at one point of time. Those who moved form one plum assignment to another consider themselves as a cut above the rest. Those who have managed to cultivate a few political godfathers or have acquired halo of godmen due to their familiarization with art of palmistry or numerology have less enthusiasm for sharing company of those who are just plain humans. The level of economic prosperity within the supposedly same financial resources varies form one person to another. While some may still be struggling with repayment of first housing loans there would be others who are concerned about the value of commercial plot not having appreciated sufficiently ! Off course goddess of prosperity does not bless everyone with equal affection. For some the proverbial opportunity said to knock once only seems to have kept on hammering at their doors with regular frequency. And so after a decade or so the bunch of equals has nothing equal except the age group and the gap seems to go on widening.

While ruminating over the scenario another famous phrase flashes into mind. ‘How much land does a man require ? ”. The title of a famous short story beautifully sums up the essence of the story and the basic philosophy of life. The story describes the plight of a human being who while chasing more and more ambitions still ends up unsatisfied and is buried below two yards of land which is the size of land which he actually required for last rites. So how much of land have these extraordinary cohorts acquired and was it so essential? The acquisition of recognition and economic prosperity by reckless climbing and pushing must have not been without sacrificing a few moral values. The constant running after the so called prime posts could not have been possible without spending a few sleepless nights for tactical planning. And then the constant vigil against encroachers on your acquisitions must have given you so many anxious moments. The financial prosperity… has it not added to feeling of insecurity against the fear of losing it ? Have the shining assets not created a false sense of prosperity in your offspring making them extravagant and wasteful ? Will they be able to hold your creations after you are not there ? So many questions but do they have time to stop and think ?

Do you love your dog

Dog lovers are a different community . I realized this after we adopted a pet after a great deal of in house debate over merits and hazards of keeping a dog. For years we had considered the dog owners in the neighbor hood as queer people with an unwanted burden of looking after the pet all the time . We wondered as to how they cope up in times of crisis such as a family member falling ill when everyone is preoccupied with hospital responsibilities. I had apprehensions about us being able to tackle the dog training aspect.

 

However after initial teething troubles the things got settled. Our dog has now become an indispensable member of core family group, one who sometimes also influences decision making process. On my return from any trip outside the city or the children coming on vacation the emotional reception from our dog spices up the welcome home ceremonials. Thanks to internet we learnt so many things about breeding and training of dogs. There are newsletters and magazines pouring out so much wisdom on the topic that one feels a bit guilty for having remained unhooked with this emotional aspect of human existence. An hour long daily morning walk with the dog is now an indispensable part of my exercising schedule. Our shopping trips invariably include visit to pet shop. Whenever a new visitor opens up with topics of dog breeding our discussions go on and on. We are now a family of dog lovers in true sense of term.

 

But this new addition to my activity schedule has also opened up for my vision an aspect of Indian socials life which is rather disturbing. The pet keeping hobby seems to be gaining popularity by day. On an average during my morning rounds I see five to six dogs being taken out for walk by respective owners or servants. But most of the creatures seem to be not in adorable health conditions. It seems that a fifteen minute outing on footpath for easing themselves is the only exercising opportunity which their masters can provide to them. Some of them are always confined behind the respective gates and are perpetually howling in shrill tones whenever a healthy dog of respectable appearance passes by. In majority of cases the dogs are taken out by servants with a stick in hand. The language of stick is the only one which these poor creatures now seem to know. There is one lady politician who merely “releases” her rascal dog on the road every morning. Since these are only moments of freedom for the thoroughly untrained creature , he satisfies his animal instincts by growling at all and sundry, and chasing all morning walkers without any rhyme or reason.

 

Having experienced the affectionate and disciplined temperament of dog for more than a year now, I feel moved over the suffering of canines who have had misfortune of landing up with these pitiable masters who keep a pet for fun or as status symbol . A thoroughly organized and brave animal like dog definitely deserves only a master who can bring out his best qualities. For those who have no time to take the pet out for a walk or exercise a stuffed toy seems to be a better option.