Anant’s blog: The Nano is more than a car

To the employees of Tata Motors, it’s a moment of great pride, a time to pat themselves on the back and the return of optimism at a time when the automobile sector is going through difficult times.

To the employees of any auto company in the country, it’s a validation of the abilities of Indian engineering – and the return of optimism for the entire sector.

To the employees of any Tata company, the association with Tata Motors is a reinforcement of their pride in belonging to the group.

To the media, it’s a subject that one can write reams about and discuss ad nauseam.

But all this is small cheese.

Because, for hundreds of thousands of families, the Nano represents hope and freedom.

Suddenly, there’s a car that is within their financial reach.

They can now hope that the family can travel in comfort when they attend a wedding and not struggle on a two-wheeler. They hope they can go to the station to pick up relatives in style. They hope, when their children oversleep and miss the bus or the autorickshaw, that they can drive the kids to school. They hope that when it’s pouring cats and dogs, getting to the market is not a depressing chore.

Even for those who cannot afford the Nano now – and there will be millions of them – the car is within dreaming distance.

In India, we have seen what the mobile phone has done for the middle and lower middle classes. It’s been an instrument of change, an enabler, a catalyst to growth and prosperity.

The Nano, even if one has to wait for it, will do all that and more for those who could not, till yesterday, even dare to dream of owning a car.

The Nano, for many, is beyond life-enhancing.

The promise of the Nano is life-changing.