Following much speculation, nay-saying, high hopes, and the usual media frenzy, Tata Motors launched its promised Rs 1,00,000 car yesterday. Of course, its a BIG deal, its positively HUGE, even as the car itself is quite small. To read more about its technical aspects, go elsewhere. Here, I am talking of its democratic value. Yes, you read d-e-m-o-c-r-a-t-i-c v-a-l-u-e.
As happens with these things, there are two camps, one the "capitalists" with their tirade of entrepreneurship and free trade and such, and the other which encompasses everyone else from the city planners to environmentalists to the villagers from Singur who are protesting against the acquisition of their land for conversion to factory premises. I have yet to fathom the reason why this second camp usually gets the polite label of "those commie bastards" by those in the first camp.
Personally speaking, I am above such petty squabbling. What occurs to me is the fact that till now, driving four-wheelers was a prerogative of the rich, and that promises to change. Till now, it was only the Sanjeev Nandas in the BMWs and the Salman Khans in the Land Cruisers who had the option of being drunk (or maybe inebriation is not so important, I don't know) and driving over not just the roads but also some people who happened to be in the way. But with the coming of the Nano, running over the homeless is no longer a luxury that is meant only for the rich in expensive cars. In fact, maybe the rich folk should start watching out when crossing the street or some such, you never know which Nano is round the corner, waiting to showcase the true power of democracy that technology, especially cheap technology, brings.
Not to forget the mention of the proverbial backseat. Young middle class couples going out on the sly can now have the luxury of their own backseat (even if it is a little cramped for space) and do not have to find a lonely spot in a public park after dusk. Youtube (well, not Youtube, but the relevant websites for such videos) should watch out for the oncoming deluge of mobile-phone videos shot by couples in
So go on and buy a Nano if you can. The EMI's are pretty handy at about Rs 2000 (or about GBP 25) over 5 years, find some rich fuckers to mow down while you hump away in the backseat, all the while humming the sweet tune of true democracy!!
Friday, January 11, 2008
Nano Democracy
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6 comments:
can only see strange characters
strange that it should appear as gibberish, since its a very basic font i used. anyway, thanks for pointing it out. i have changed the font, and it should be legible now.
just what's so democratic?
on a serious note, if you didn't understand that, then you either need to broaden your perspective of humour or stop visiting this place. on a more serious note however, what do you think democracy means anyway? if you confine it to merely the political, then you need to broaden more than just your perspective on humour.
i mean, do you really need explaining to? really?
broaden my perspective? that seems a touch too serious an endavour for me to undertake.
in your content, you forget about the contessas, 1000s, and the ill-famed ambassador...and it wasn't just a prerogative of the rich, or the rise of the maruti and what not. so specifically speaking, your content is based on selective historical evidence and omits something smaller than 'those commie bastards' but bigger than those faceless mass. perhaps the day the 'poor' get a bmw or land cruiser, it will be truly humorous in its irony. Wait till the first image of a nano plastered on the back of a tata truck comes out, then we can discuss the viability of running things down, just like with the maruti van.
If the humor is in the democratic technology, then I will desist, as evidently you have mistaken assumptions i care not to rectify.
And a case to the point, as Ford did this a little over a hundred years ago already, aren't you able, on a humorous note, to see the truly humorous side of all this? i suppose that might require a broadside shot with a little more cynicism.
wow. i thought i had got rid of such serious comments on the blog, but obviously i was wrong. the only "humour" i was referring to was the viability of a backseat, and of course, the chance for the erstwhile two-wheeler riders to run over some footpath dwellers. and no, the contessa, ambassador, or the 800, none of them came close in terms of affordability to this here nano. a lakh rupees today is much less than what it used to mean even 5 years ago. and no, i was not delving in to history, but just being very shallow. not everything needs to be intellectualised.
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