Thank you, Mr. Ratan Tata.

I don't see too many Tata Nanos on the road. People tell me the deliveries haven't really started yet. I hope so. When this topic of discussion comes up, I am the only one saying that the Nano is sure to be a success. I am vehemently opposed by everyone present. "No chance", they say. "Its like an auto rickshaw", they saw. "It sounds like a scooter"... "Who would want to be seen in that"... "People would rather save some more and buy a 3.5 lac car entry-level hatchback".

Maybe. But maybe the Nano wasn't made for people who wanted to be seen in a car. Maybe it was never aimed at being a status symbol. Maybe it was meant to just provide the safety and security that a car offers. Maybe in a country with one billion people, there is a family of three somewhere, who still travels on a two wheeler. Where the four year old son sits tightly between the father and the mother. Or sometimes just behind his father or mother, with his face exposed to the pollution and wind around him. Maybe he could pick up a respiratory illness, possibly even pneumonia...

He would then need to be operated and as a result become so weak, that he would have to learn walking all over again. And develop asthma as a post-op complication. Maybe his whole life would change after that. He would have to carry a 4-inch inhaler with him. Always. No mater where he went, no matter what clothes he wore. He would feel unsafe without it. He would have to take a dose before sleeping everyday, and on 300 days in a year, he would wake up feeling short of breath. He would need it more often during weather fluctuations.He would never be able to take aspirin and ibuprofen, the most common pain killers in the world.

That kind of family would then be forced to buy a new Maruti 800, even if they couldn't afford it. Take a loan, even pawn some wedding jewelery. Maybe the Nano is made for such families.

I guess if the Nano had been available in 1986 for about Rs.15000, I wouldn't have a two inch scar on my chest.

Nevertheless, thank you Mr. Ratan Tata. A promise is indeed,a promise.