The Nano
Very rarely do we achieve what we dream of,
And even rarely so do we execute an act that would make the world remember us for when we have departed for the Hades,
I wish I had lived the life of Ratan Tata ,
The proverbial underdog, the one who loved to prove people wrong,
So that I would humbly accept the accolades showered upon me,
And then return to my hearth all alone and look into the fireplace,
And live my life a thousand times.
George Bush Jr. had labeled his saga of retribution in Afghanistan post 9/11 as “Shock and Awe”. But what shocked and awed the world was a work of socio-mechanical engineering envisioned and executed by a band of men owing their allegiance to an inspiring leader. TATA motors and Ratan Tata did the unthinkable – designing a car that would sell for a lakh and yet meet the basic needs of any automobile owner – Quality, Safety, and Environment Friendliness. They say that Ratan Tata was moved by the sight of a family of four riding on a scooter on a rainy day getting drenched and yet braving the inclement weather to reach their destination. They say that Gautam Buddha was moved by the suffering of mankind and when his charioteer could not answer his difficult questions he renounced the pleasures of the royal household and spent years in deep meditation trying to understand the cause of human suffering. Well, Ratan Tata went back home and thought deeply over it and in 2004 announced to the world – ‘My team shall give you a car that costs Rupees One Lakh’. His competitors rubbished him, his critics questioned his mental disposition and the aam aadmi dismissed it as yet another grandiose promise that would remain unfulfilled.
But the man was made of sterner stuff – after all wasn’t he the one who had turned around a loss making NELCO in the 70’s? Wasn’t he the one who had unleashed the Indica from the stables of TATA Motors? The man kept quiet and so did his team. It seemed as if Ratan Tata was fulfilling the great TATA dream of touching the lives of people. In the mid 1990’s there was an advertisement of TATA Steel which showed a family of three holding hands on a beach and - looking into the sea and it simply said – “We also make steel”
Yes, it is too early to write paeans of praise for this unassuming industrialist – but this man has showed that it is it ain’t no wrong to be born in India. The Americans are pissing in their pants – asking themselves ‘Why didn’t we think of this ?”. Come to think of it, after Henry Ford the Americans have not contributed much to the automobile industry. The Japanese lead by Toyota took the battle to America when cheap, reliable and efficient cars almost wiped out the local automobile industry. And then came Ratan Tata ---
And even rarely so do we execute an act that would make the world remember us for when we have departed for the Hades,
I wish I had lived the life of Ratan Tata ,
The proverbial underdog, the one who loved to prove people wrong,
So that I would humbly accept the accolades showered upon me,
And then return to my hearth all alone and look into the fireplace,
And live my life a thousand times.
George Bush Jr. had labeled his saga of retribution in Afghanistan post 9/11 as “Shock and Awe”. But what shocked and awed the world was a work of socio-mechanical engineering envisioned and executed by a band of men owing their allegiance to an inspiring leader. TATA motors and Ratan Tata did the unthinkable – designing a car that would sell for a lakh and yet meet the basic needs of any automobile owner – Quality, Safety, and Environment Friendliness. They say that Ratan Tata was moved by the sight of a family of four riding on a scooter on a rainy day getting drenched and yet braving the inclement weather to reach their destination. They say that Gautam Buddha was moved by the suffering of mankind and when his charioteer could not answer his difficult questions he renounced the pleasures of the royal household and spent years in deep meditation trying to understand the cause of human suffering. Well, Ratan Tata went back home and thought deeply over it and in 2004 announced to the world – ‘My team shall give you a car that costs Rupees One Lakh’. His competitors rubbished him, his critics questioned his mental disposition and the aam aadmi dismissed it as yet another grandiose promise that would remain unfulfilled.
But the man was made of sterner stuff – after all wasn’t he the one who had turned around a loss making NELCO in the 70’s? Wasn’t he the one who had unleashed the Indica from the stables of TATA Motors? The man kept quiet and so did his team. It seemed as if Ratan Tata was fulfilling the great TATA dream of touching the lives of people. In the mid 1990’s there was an advertisement of TATA Steel which showed a family of three holding hands on a beach and - looking into the sea and it simply said – “We also make steel”
Yes, it is too early to write paeans of praise for this unassuming industrialist – but this man has showed that it is it ain’t no wrong to be born in India. The Americans are pissing in their pants – asking themselves ‘Why didn’t we think of this ?”. Come to think of it, after Henry Ford the Americans have not contributed much to the automobile industry. The Japanese lead by Toyota took the battle to America when cheap, reliable and efficient cars almost wiped out the local automobile industry. And then came Ratan Tata ---
posted by Shreerang at 4:29 PM
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