Pics by Rons Bantwal
Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai
Mumbai, July 17 (IANS) : A gleaming lunar silver-coloured Nano was handed over to a proud owner here Friday to mark the commercial rollout of the jellybean-shaped small car, which has been drawing global attention since the prototype was unveiled last year.
Ratan Naval Tata, the chairman of the $62.5-billion Tata group who had promised to deliver what he has been calling the "people's car" at just Rs.100,000 ($2,500) at factory gates, himself handed over the car keys to Ashok Vichare, a class I customs officer.
Tata also gave away the keys of the second, sunshine yellow, Nano to HDFC Bank employee Ashish Balakrishnan, while the third, a lunar silver, went to a representative of Kores India, which manufactures carbon paper and typing sheets.
"I hope the Tata Nano will bring motoring pleasure to those who will be buying their first car as also those who currently own cars but want a modern, contemporary, emission-friendly city car," said a beaming Tata.
Accepting the car keys from Tata, Vichare expressed his intention to drive down straight to the famous Siddhi Vinayak Temple, dedicated to Lord Ganesh, and frequented by celebrities and commoners alike.
Accompanied by his wife, two children and mother, Vichare (59) drove off to the temple, just a stone's throw from Concorde Motors, the Tata's company outlet at Prabhadevi.
For Balakrishnan, it was a dream come true.
"There are three things in life which one cherishes - to own a house, buy a car and start a family. For me, the second dream is coming through," Balakrishnan, a 29-year old bachelor, said after getting the car key.
A business manager with HDFC Bank, Balakrishnan had opted for direct full payment for his vehicle. "I now hope I can now settle down with a family soon," he said with a smile.
The function attracted hundreds of curious onlookers, housewives, students and even some office-goers going home early.
Many of them have also booked and been allotted Nano vehicles in the draw held a few weeks ago, while some said they had come to see how the car looks before deciding to book it.
As Vichare's lunar silver car zoomed out of the showroom, on to the Mumbai roads, there were cheers and applause from the crowd gathered there since early afternoon to catch a glimpse of the world's cheapest family car.
He got Nano car but lost keys!
Ashish Balakrishnan's dream came true and then almost turned into a nightmare Friday evening. He now owns a Nano car but has lost its keys.
At a gala ceremony Tata Motors chairman Ratan Tata handed over the keys of the second Nano car to the 29-year-old bachelor who then said: "There are three things in life which one cherishes - to own a house, buy a car and start a family. For me, the second dream is coming through."
And then he lost the keys.
Tata Motors will hand over a duplicate set to Balakrishnan Saturday. His cousin will drive out the car.
A business manager with HDFC Bank, Balakrishnan had opted for direct full payment for his vehicle. "I hope I can now settle down with a family soon," he said with a smile.