3 - Fast-forward | Tata Nano

Summary

Fast-forward

Chandni had started working in a quest to earn her own money and contribute to her family at the age of 16, a few years earlier than her peers. Her first job was at a call centre, which her father initially opposed but was compelled to accept when Chandni did not relent. Following the call centre job, Chandni went on to do administrative work in a smaller but more upscale office. While she was eventually disappointed at her lack of progression there, she still talked about it as a transformative phase in her life. It was while working there that Chandni changed from a naive girl with oily plaits to a fashionable young woman who drew the attention of boys (Chapter 5 discusses these bodily transformations). It was in this office that she met her first boyfriend – Rohan. Although Chandni was initially reluctant about this romantic liaison, the relationship was encouraged by her boss and colleagues. Chandni and Rohan started going out on ‘dates’, often with friends and sometimes just the two of them. She had told her mother about him, claiming ‘… she is like a friend to me’.

Rohan's family, Chandni told me, was fairly wealthy. They lived in Madangir, a slightly higher-income neighbourhood than Chandni’s, and owned multiple properties across various cities. While Chandni's family, at the time, did not have any private vehicles, Rohan's family had recently bought a car – a Tata Nano – which he was driving around. The Tata Nano, it needs to be noted, is not just another car. Launched in 2008, the Nano, with its modest price tag of INR 100,000, captured the aspirations of a growing middle-class population who had previously only had access to motorbikes. As the world's cheapest car, the Nano was dubbed ‘the people's car’, becoming an object that symbolised India's capacity to innovate and integrate with global lifestyles. For Chandni, the car was a novelty, and her relationship with Rohan a learning experience. To her surprise, her colleagues, who had initially encouraged the relationship, now seemed envious:

He [Rohan] used to take me out in his car. He had a Nano. Office people got us to talk, then they said Chandni turned out to be very fast-forward. But I wasn't attracted by his car or bike. I know besides love, you have to think of finances, but that wasn't it.