The "Nano" Revolution

Ever since its conception, the Tata Nano has been the talk in the circles. When it was launched, it created ripples everywhere - starting from the automobile industry, to the 2-wheeler industry, to 2nd and 3rd tier suppliers.

It has piqued the interests of not only its target group - the low-middle to middle class, but also of the rich; the students, the working class as well as the "elites" of the road (The first woman photojournalist, the 96-year-old Homai Vyarawalla, has sold her 55-year-oldFiat 1100 to buy the world's cheapest car, Tata Nano.)

Incidentally, it also brought out a new kind of discrimination in the already discriminative Indian society - discrimination on the basis of ownership of car. Even though the automobile industry has grown manifolds in India, with several foreign firms playing on an equal ground with the domestic Maruti, Tata motors, M&M, which has led to an increase in ownership of cars; we still see them as status symbols deep within. No wonder then that there's a public opposition and baseless criticisms about the car in fourms and network groups, where people have openly criticised availability of cars to the masses.

Is it really a concern for traffic? Or just the fear of the disappearance of the solid line of distinction between the car owners and the "others"? After all drivers of 4-wheelers show the maximum cases of road rage while the poor scooter riders end up as victims in most of the accidents (and let's leave the bus drivers out. They're a whole class apart).

Love it or hate it, but the Nano is here. Ever since it's conception, it has been facing both admiration and criticism in equal amounts. And even when this baby is out in the market after facing many hurdles - the singur plant shutdown, the time crunch to bring it out in the market, and the unconventional production from 2 plants; it still has more challenges to face.

The biggest one being - will it meet customers' expectations? Given the reputation of its predecessors - Indica, Safari and Sumo, either its gonna be a success like the Indica or a failure like the Sumo Grande. But then these products are known to make a comeback. So we can only wait and watch.

Photo: Tata Nano has gained popularity with the masses. This is visible from the fact that a local chips company in Uttarakhand has named its latest offer after the revolutionary car. Incidentally, Uttarakhand became the birthplace of Tata Nano after the Singur pullout.

Free

Be gay. Be happy. The land is now free of the old colonial laws porohibiting homosexual behaviour.

Better late than never!

What really are advertisements? - Part I

A famous British writer, George Orwell once said 'Advertising is the rattling of a stick inside a swill bucket'. Advertising in its most traditional sense is a way of promoting a product, to make it known to people and to persuade them to buy it. It can also be used to promote a company’s image or spread a social message like aids-prevention etc.

The most important motive of an advertisement is to get the consumers' attention to promote the products’ sales. They are meant to inform and influence the consumers into buying the advertised goods or services. While these inform the consumers about the new product launched in the market, these also uphold a company’s ideology.

Some of the good things about advertisements are that these help the companies sell more products thus helping the company to produce better products at lower prices. Consumers are also benefited as they can compare products and prices and pick out the most appropriate one. As the companies spend a lot of money and other resources on advertisements, they often live up to the promises they make

There are also some negative aspects of advertisements. It often lures people to buy those things that he/she cannot afford. The lifestyles promoted by certain ads, like harmful cosmetics, junk food, artificially flavored drinks etc are known to make people specially children unhealthy. Besides these, advertisements make people feel like losers if they do not posses the particular thing. Most of the teenage girls would like to look as beautiful as a model or a film actress by using not so costly cosmetics and a boy if given a chance would not mind riding a bike endorsed by one of the most popular Hollywood actor. Ads can also be said to convey provide information that we do not really need in our daily lives. What these sell are images and symbols.