Mom Wants a Nano (more than my Dad)

I was pleasantly surprised when my mom told me how determined she was to be the first woman to book Nano, never mind the fact that she may have to battle it out with over a million others in a lottery draw. Her enthusiasm brings to the fore a fact that the critics of Nano should bear in mind – Nano is an answer to their desire to travel light and safe.

Even before the commercial launch, Nano became a symbol of hope and optimism for the common man (or woman) heralding a revolution that finds parallels with the iPod, or a Rs1000 mobile phone.

Negative reports are being dished out in the newspapers, “It sounds like an auto” “Oh no radio, no air conditioner” “It is a tin can”. All this has been ignored by my parents who are planning to save up for the booking amount (approx Rs.90,000) even though they are in the midst of preparing for my sister’s wedding in May.

I would say my parents represent a middle-class Indian family (post-retirement) where the average monthly income is conservative consisting of pension and some self-business income. There are billions of Indian families such as mine who aspire for economic solutions. My folks already own a second-hand car and I was going to gift them a fairly well-maintained Matiz, but the excitement of having a Nano in their garage is just something else. (By the way my parents are looking to replace their 15-years old Maruti 800 by Tata Nano. News reports already suggest that Maruti 800 is being phased out.)

It is not just the fate of Tata’s Nano but fate of the other car brands which will be decided by the populace. A colleague of mine is waiting for Nano launch not because he wants to buy it, but to see what ripple effect it will have in bringing down the prices of other cars that are on his wish-list.

The Nano represents a modest fantasy for the billions of Indians. It’s the same populace that made Indian mobile subscriber base figures legendary. It is the same masses that made the Indian stock market boom legendary by being first time investors in early 2006-07. And it is this very group that will now turn Nano into a legend.

Mamta Bannerjee are you listening the roar of Nano and the thunderous footfalls of eager consumers? That’s the stuff PROGRESS is made of.