Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Friday, November 23, 2012
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Friday, October 19, 2012
KYA BAN KE
Mil naseeb ban ke
Bol saaz ban ke
Baras abr ban ke
Taras pyar ban ke
So bachcha ban ke
Sun mann ban ke
Naach khushi ban ke
Chadh jawaani ban ke
Thehar gham ban ke
Jaag ishq ban ke
Badal mausam ban ke
Bichad saathi ban ke
Jee dariyaa ban ke
Mar khwahish ban ke
Quateel Ahmad
18 October 2012
Bol saaz ban ke
Baras abr ban ke
Taras pyar ban ke
So bachcha ban ke
Sun mann ban ke
Naach khushi ban ke
Chadh jawaani ban ke
Thehar gham ban ke
Jaag ishq ban ke
Badal mausam ban ke
Bichad saathi ban ke
Jee dariyaa ban ke
Mar khwahish ban ke
Quateel Ahmad
18 October 2012
Thursday, October 11, 2012
ODE TO JOY
And this is how the story went
From lofty palace to tattered tent
A wave had risen unexplained
Of Joy strong jagged unplaned
It just ran right through the world
Bowed rivers great and brooks curl'd
In mountains of snow skin and fire blood
Through fecund fields of redding mud
Grew to be like an endless shore
Then came and sat on Heart's floor
Who let it rule from that small deep seat
And other Emotions felt unjust the treat
Joy was restless it needed space
To break the walls and be a flighty grace
Sorrow vowed to change make
To run Joy out and its place take
Fear and Despair flew Sorrow's banner
Anxiety and Pain in similar manner
Joy the strongest took no heed
A friend the wanderer didn't need
Since then the battle rages on
Joy leaves the heart and is unbound
Still it reigns when it returns
Sorrow and Joy rule Heart by turns
Quateel Ahmad
Dec 2011
THE DRUMMER
Lies in state resplendent
his old uniform brassy
Shined to a gleam
By someone I don't know
The flies buzz around
Its hot, the power's out
So far he's the only one
Not sweating or cursing
Probably at peace
Probably
The parlor window overlooks
The road to the cemetery
And in the verandah outside
The bench favoured by him
And his band
Where they smoked cigarettes.
Waiting to lead the final journeys
Disuse now writ upon the old bench
there is soft rubbery wood rust
that shows up after the rains
and just stays
Dries and darkens
Like the future of many
Of the perils a long life
the risk of loneliness is the biggest
He would recall certain days and deaths
With sadness and pride
When he led columns of hundreds
And of times when tears didn't dry
Its changing world this is
the young have no clue
Of the proper ways to death
And before that what it is to do
The drummer knew that and more
The town now full of strangers
The parish thin and weakening
The Bugler was the only one left
A wheezer with just half a lung
The wake seems long
And the arrivals few
Some just happened to be
so will stay for the final trip
Those who walk into the parlor
See pictures brought by the son
A life faded but vigorous once
A war and a wedding
some shiny shoes
Some gummy smiles
Him doing the jive
It is time and the Bugler makes
A sorrowful call clear and powerful
Eyes watering from pain
Of lung or bereavement
Who can tell
The body is placed
In Lobo's hearse,
newly repainted
Fittingly
The mourners numbers swell
Every household in the village
Is present here in flesh
And many more in spirit
All ready to go but none moving yet
Till the Drummer's son picks up
The drum and sticks and is adamant
Starts the final journey
His paced out beat not clearly struck
But timed perfectly
A lifetime of listening at work
The Drummer seems at peace
And his final journey marches
To the beat of a different drummer
Quateel Ahmad
2012
his old uniform brassy
Shined to a gleam
By someone I don't know
The flies buzz around
Its hot, the power's out
So far he's the only one
Not sweating or cursing
Probably at peace
Probably
The parlor window overlooks
The road to the cemetery
And in the verandah outside
The bench favoured by him
And his band
Where they smoked cigarettes.
Waiting to lead the final journeys
Disuse now writ upon the old bench
there is soft rubbery wood rust
that shows up after the rains
and just stays
Dries and darkens
Like the future of many
Of the perils a long life
the risk of loneliness is the biggest
He would recall certain days and deaths
With sadness and pride
When he led columns of hundreds
And of times when tears didn't dry
Its changing world this is
the young have no clue
Of the proper ways to death
And before that what it is to do
The drummer knew that and more
The town now full of strangers
The parish thin and weakening
The Bugler was the only one left
A wheezer with just half a lung
The wake seems long
And the arrivals few
Some just happened to be
so will stay for the final trip
Those who walk into the parlor
See pictures brought by the son
A life faded but vigorous once
A war and a wedding
some shiny shoes
Some gummy smiles
Him doing the jive
It is time and the Bugler makes
A sorrowful call clear and powerful
Eyes watering from pain
Of lung or bereavement
Who can tell
The body is placed
In Lobo's hearse,
newly repainted
Fittingly
The mourners numbers swell
Every household in the village
Is present here in flesh
And many more in spirit
All ready to go but none moving yet
Till the Drummer's son picks up
The drum and sticks and is adamant
Starts the final journey
His paced out beat not clearly struck
But timed perfectly
A lifetime of listening at work
The Drummer seems at peace
And his final journey marches
To the beat of a different drummer
Quateel Ahmad
2012
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
KAM HAI
Jitna bhi kiya hua kam hai
Ab chalne ko raasta kam hai
Kehte hain badaa hai dil uska
Is marz ki to davaa kam hai
Rai leta hoon apne chhoton se
Unmein ajza e raaegan kam hai
Jo muskuraaye apni aankhon se
Dil main uske maiyl kam hai
Kayi hain ab haqdaar iske
Aur pyaar mujhe mila kam hai
Maine keh diya tha sabkuch
Wo kehte hain likha kam hai
Ab chalne ko raasta kam hai
Kehte hain badaa hai dil uska
Is marz ki to davaa kam hai
Rai leta hoon apne chhoton se
Unmein ajza e raaegan kam hai
Jo muskuraaye apni aankhon se
Dil main uske maiyl kam hai
Kayi hain ab haqdaar iske
Aur pyaar mujhe mila kam hai
Maine keh diya tha sabkuch
Wo kehte hain likha kam hai
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Sulagta hai dil
Sulagta hai dil to karta hai sawaal bhi,
mohabbat mein aati hai subh e zavaal bhi
khamoshi mein hain pardadari ki alamatein,
tanhaiyon main panapte hain malaal bhi
muskurate ho ab bhi baatein karte ho,
rakhte ho dil mein bewafa khayal bhi
gile kya karun tum se kya shikayatein,
sannaate bhi hain sukoon la muhaal bhi
nibah rahe hain is salikay se rasm e duniya,
guzre chand roz phir mahine aur saal bhi
main apna haal e dil bayaan na kar paoon,
teri ankhen bhi khushk hain laal bhi
mohabbat mein aati hai subh e zavaal bhi
khamoshi mein hain pardadari ki alamatein,
tanhaiyon main panapte hain malaal bhi
muskurate ho ab bhi baatein karte ho,
rakhte ho dil mein bewafa khayal bhi
gile kya karun tum se kya shikayatein,
sannaate bhi hain sukoon la muhaal bhi
nibah rahe hain is salikay se rasm e duniya,
guzre chand roz phir mahine aur saal bhi
main apna haal e dil bayaan na kar paoon,
teri ankhen bhi khushk hain laal bhi
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Another sher
Hum ne ek doosre se kuch chupaaya bhi nahin,
Usne kuch poocha nahin maine bataaya bhi nahin
Usne kuch poocha nahin maine bataaya bhi nahin
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Kya Karun
Husn e jaana ki
taareef main kya shuru karun,
khatm na ho jo baat main kya shuru karun
Kamzarf se samandar labon pe beqarar,
Ab apne khayalon ko kya beabroo karun
Wo ghazal ke maiyne poochta hai mujhse,
Ab aaine se main use kya roobaroo karun
Sachchai ne nawaaza hai tanhayi se mujhe
Kyun na meetha bolna main bhi shuru karun
Karne ke waaste mujhko baatein hazaar hain
Har baar talkhiyon ko hi kyun surkhroo karun
Mardood e adab mein Quateel apna shumar hai
Is bujhi kalam se kise kya khushroo karun
khatm na ho jo baat main kya shuru karun
Kamzarf se samandar labon pe beqarar,
Ab apne khayalon ko kya beabroo karun
Wo ghazal ke maiyne poochta hai mujhse,
Ab aaine se main use kya roobaroo karun
Sachchai ne nawaaza hai tanhayi se mujhe
Kyun na meetha bolna main bhi shuru karun
Karne ke waaste mujhko baatein hazaar hain
Har baar talkhiyon ko hi kyun surkhroo karun
Mardood e adab mein Quateel apna shumar hai
Is bujhi kalam se kise kya khushroo karun
Monday, April 30, 2012
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Monday, April 23, 2012
Friday, April 20, 2012
Muyassar nahin mujhko
Muyassar nahin mujhko basafaa hona
qayamat hai sabka raazdan hona
Khelti hai shabnam usi phool pe
jiske labon pe hain isko nihaan hona
Aaj tujhe dekha badi bekaraari se
samjhe kya hai khaaish ka javaan hona
Shay hai jo khuda ki kudrat ki
Dekh rahe hain uska bhi khuda hona
Haal e dil se rooh tak utar jaata hai
Dard ki firtrat mein hai ravaan hona
qayamat hai sabka raazdan hona
Khelti hai shabnam usi phool pe
jiske labon pe hain isko nihaan hona
Aaj tujhe dekha badi bekaraari se
samjhe kya hai khaaish ka javaan hona
Shay hai jo khuda ki kudrat ki
Dekh rahe hain uska bhi khuda hona
Haal e dil se rooh tak utar jaata hai
Dard ki firtrat mein hai ravaan hona
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Smrutiyon ka prabhaav
Smrutiyon ka prabhaav pyaas sa badhta chalaa gayaa
Aur main beete palon ko niglata chala gayaa
Kitno ke pat jhat bund phir kiye
kuch ka tar udhdaa to udhadtaa chalaa gayaa
Kab tak padi rahogi mere paaon mein
Sawaal apni bediyon se main karta chala gayaa
Na shastra na kavach kisi kaam aaye
Is rann mein ajay vahi jo gira aur girtaa chala gayaa
Saath hain to kyun na hum sukhi rahein
Prashn na thaa to chinh kyun lagtaa chalaa gayaa
Phoolon ki sej mein hi thha mere hriday ka shool
Layt'te hi mere wo ghar chalaa gayaa
Aur main beete palon ko niglata chala gayaa
Kitno ke pat jhat bund phir kiye
kuch ka tar udhdaa to udhadtaa chalaa gayaa
Kab tak padi rahogi mere paaon mein
Sawaal apni bediyon se main karta chala gayaa
Na shastra na kavach kisi kaam aaye
Is rann mein ajay vahi jo gira aur girtaa chala gayaa
Saath hain to kyun na hum sukhi rahein
Prashn na thaa to chinh kyun lagtaa chalaa gayaa
Phoolon ki sej mein hi thha mere hriday ka shool
Layt'te hi mere wo ghar chalaa gayaa
Friday, April 13, 2012
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Friday, March 16, 2012
Mulzim ban gaya badnaam nahi hua
Samaj ke thekedar abhi baithe nahi
sar se khoon ka utar nahi hua
Ishq o aman jisko dekh ke sehem jayen
Samaj ka chehra aisa nahi hua
Malik o mansoor chahe jitna marein nez o sang
aitimad apna be dam nahi hua
Saari mushkile ho jayein asaan
Apna itna sawaab nahi hua,
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Khwab dekha aur tod diya
Ek khwab dekha phir tod diya
khushfehmi se khud ko jhanjhod liya
awara hai badal kabhi laut ta nahi
kitne banjaro ko isne tarasta chhod diya
kinare ko choom rahi thi meri kashti
toofanon mein kisne ise phir mod diya
Haasil mehkashi ka khoob mila mujhe
nashe ne khumaar ko tod diya
Aaye ho to baitho ankhein senk loon
dil ne to ab machalna chod diya
khushfehmi se khud ko jhanjhod liya
awara hai badal kabhi laut ta nahi
kitne banjaro ko isne tarasta chhod diya
kinare ko choom rahi thi meri kashti
toofanon mein kisne ise phir mod diya
Haasil mehkashi ka khoob mila mujhe
nashe ne khumaar ko tod diya
Aaye ho to baitho ankhein senk loon
dil ne to ab machalna chod diya
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Auto Reverie and Rant
There it comes again. A new car passes and a whole truck load of
information processing starts again. Like a program, the front, the A
pillar, profile, B pillar and C and boot or hatch are processed and
analysed. It hardly lasts a second but makes me marvel at the way the
brain functions and continues to repeat this exercise. I keep reasoning
with it that since there are so many new cars coming, its pointless. And
furthermore,my work is not of an automotive disposition. So why? Maybe
in search of closure I began writing this piece.
As I was writing, a lancer overtook my car, naturally, this being india from the left and at the same time a Skoda overtook the lancer from its left and immediately, I began imagining the torque graph and gear ratios at play here. Resigning myself to the fate of my automotive memories and with general interest at heart I will write only about design. Of the cars that is.
Growing up in a country that was confused whether it was a socialist country or not, led to a automotively challenged childhood. The heart yearns for stuff it does not get, so all sorts of car books were constantly pored over and the usual suspects overanalysed. Being mumbai, it was largely a Premier city. Kolkata and Delhi were largely Ambassador cities and Chennai was where Standard Heralds were made.
The first big car I regularly heard of was the Impala, then the world's hottest luxury car. Everybody who was anybody had to have one, otherwise they were not really there. Rajesh Khanna had one. So there. But my first encounters were with our landlord's what I think was the Kingsway with its white and acqua two tone colour and big fins, 16 number Ram Uncle's yellow Beetle, and the Landmaster from Ferns Villa. Also, Owen lived next to Ferns Villa and his dad had a real cool Willys Station Wagon. Opposite school under Michelle's house was perenially parked a stately serene black 1966 Mercedes 190 D. The Alves just ahead in the village had a Herald that was more parked than not. In comparison our Fiat 1100, the 'dukkar fiat' as it was uncharitably called in mumbai was quite a commoner in my eyes. There were many others but I remember these. They all were of different vintages and design philosophies but in themselves complete. It is the 190 I think that caused me to go out of whack as far as cars are concerned. Peering over the window sill looking into the gear knob, the chrome plated rings on the intrument panels and the lovely vertical grill with the blue and silver three pointed star decal crowned by the ring.
All through school, newspapers were scoured, magazines torn, posters collected and scrapbooks made. In this scrapbook is my first drawing of my car. A no-nonsense four door endowed with a childish yet learned sense of proportion. We'll call it the X One. More on this later.
The biggest help was the annual issue of World Cars. Every year in January 100 bucks spent on buying it outside Bandra station. We were in the 10th then and Shabbir and I would pore over the issue sitting in his classic Ford Escort.
Uncle, Shabbir's dad would tell us the difference between power and torque. How a morris minor would have a straight torque line tapering off only at a very high rpm. Later on one learnt that this is a typical characteristic of long stroke engines. He was working on a concept that I still remember. One that I will always remember but not reveal as I have not tested it. Uncle was not very talkative but a great teacher when he wanted to be. His garage was a favourite hangout place for me. And I would often go there to meet Shabbir.
Shabbir and I would often talk in respectful awed tones, me I suspect more than him about Ferrari, Bertone, Guigiaro, Pininfarina, Zagato and Gandini. The gods of design. The altar which we longed to worship at but convinced that we would die in this heathen hell untouched by divinity.
Time passed in a desultory fashion with insipid ideas floating around in the heads of indian auto manufacturers. They got a nissan chery engine in a Lada body and called it 118 NE (Nissan Engined). Why for heaven's sake can't they get the Chery body also. Die cost saving cheapos!!!! HM launched the Contessa and the tinpot Trekker. For a while the government pretended that it was favouring those in high places by giving them contessas. The Standard auto company launched the the Standard 2000 a rust bucket from day one with a horribly rattly engine with no power!!! Indian auto industry dying fast. Before that the Standard Herald 4 door popped up and popped out faster than you could say Muthiah!!
The Maruti will not be mentioned but the Dolphin will be as it suffered at the hands of the govt's policy that blatantly favoured below 800 cc 4 door cars...conveniently only the maruti met that criteria....Tata's proposal to tie up with Honda for passenger cars was very much in keeping with the spirit of the Rajiv Gandhi joint venture era...allwyn nissan, eicher mitsubishi, dcm toyota, birla yamaha et al were doing well...but of course as they were not competing with Maruti. Dolphin was. And Tata would be so he was denied. A similar more sordid story would be repeated with the singapore airlines proposal. Sometimes I think we should give the group a bharat ratna just for staying put.
I was introduced to Indian Auto Journal then. Rajesh Mirajkar and his spartan public conveyance and private vehicle designs electrified me. Concept cars came into my world. Designs seen like never before. Some time later a new fella left Corvette (I know I know GM) and came here to design fantastically exotic looking cars. Dilip Chhabria is his name but his styling while very influenced by Zagato to my mind is not harmonious. And build quality suspect. So it has remained, despite his company doing fantastically well.
College meant I would travel easily to churchgate to pick up not only World Cars but also foreign issues of Car&Driver and Track&Road. My knowledge was increasing by leaps and bounds. As I grew interested in other things...India was opening up. Hyundai, Daewoo, ford, Opel all came in one by one... But where were the Indian companies? Which brings me to the question I wanted to ask...so I better come to the point quickly. Let me speed things up.
But after all these years, Tata had created a
Tatamobile. No, not a cell phone. It was india's first attempt at a pick up truck. Not bad considering the truckers got the looks part right, they were heavily influenced by the Benz cars they were assembling for MB. But the build level esp NVH was all wrong. Car versions came out like crazy. And the one from Nicholas coachbuilders my favourite. Horrible build quality though. Tata Estate was better but marginally so. Then came the Tata Sierra. And then Ratan Tata had a vision to make a people's car. No not the Nano...that would come later.
This was the Indica. And when it was revealed at the Auto Show in Delhi, it became the first product launch that I saw on TV and cried. So far it is the only one. Something indescribable when Ratan came on stage and the car was revealed. guess somewhere there was closure of sorts. It was a people's car alright. Designed by IDEA. So obviously there were similarities to the FIAT car of same vintage and dimensions the Palio, tailgate, boot, hood slope and doors. But the Tatas never got me the car I wanted. They took an Ambassador sized car and gave it wheels of a 800. Still make this mistake for all their cars (except the Safari) and variants. Look at the Manza and the Indigo. Don't give me engineering and rolling resistance theory, as it doesn't wash. They could have used thin steel instead of that ton heavy armour plate they were using, make it lighter so the wheels of proper size could be put in place. Still am very proud of it but also pissed at tata motors for not rounding off the job properly. Build and all those habits will come eventually but styling is something that defines you. And not getting the proportions right is so wrong.
Mahindras, the chaps who plied us with jeeps of all kinds were getting into passenger vehicles. It was so exciting. After the Commander, Armada and Bolero, Project Scorpio is a whole new company within a company (like GM's Saturn Project) would herald the company's entry into the passenger segment. Cover stories preceded the launch and when the car arrived and I was massively underwhelmed. It was a jeep like any other. Closed yes. But that old Willys Station Wagon had more character. over the years when I had a few rides in it, I appreciated the cars solidity and ride. But Mahindra wasn't content...no....no. They gave us the Xylo and the Gio two of the ugliest vehicles known to man. Tata tried to compete by giving us the Nano. They have patented the 'too-small a wheel' ugliness and taken it to new levels. So I ask myself this question...
When indian auto companies make enough money to buy Jaguar and Land Rover and Ssangyong...can't they buy a little bit of sensibility to design a better looking vehicle. It doesn't cost more...just need to make the effort so why aren't they putting it there?
Especially when we are getting the Fortuners, Q7s and the M1s on the same roads. The Citys and the Ventos on the same parking lots? Why? Why? Why?
When I an average Indian can see it, why can't they? Why?
I has this question for many years but as it was dormant it lay still, after seeing what the new Xylo looks like and the ridiculous honeycomb grille of the XUV500 the torrent became an outpour.
As I was writing, a lancer overtook my car, naturally, this being india from the left and at the same time a Skoda overtook the lancer from its left and immediately, I began imagining the torque graph and gear ratios at play here. Resigning myself to the fate of my automotive memories and with general interest at heart I will write only about design. Of the cars that is.
Growing up in a country that was confused whether it was a socialist country or not, led to a automotively challenged childhood. The heart yearns for stuff it does not get, so all sorts of car books were constantly pored over and the usual suspects overanalysed. Being mumbai, it was largely a Premier city. Kolkata and Delhi were largely Ambassador cities and Chennai was where Standard Heralds were made.
The first big car I regularly heard of was the Impala, then the world's hottest luxury car. Everybody who was anybody had to have one, otherwise they were not really there. Rajesh Khanna had one. So there. But my first encounters were with our landlord's what I think was the Kingsway with its white and acqua two tone colour and big fins, 16 number Ram Uncle's yellow Beetle, and the Landmaster from Ferns Villa. Also, Owen lived next to Ferns Villa and his dad had a real cool Willys Station Wagon. Opposite school under Michelle's house was perenially parked a stately serene black 1966 Mercedes 190 D. The Alves just ahead in the village had a Herald that was more parked than not. In comparison our Fiat 1100, the 'dukkar fiat' as it was uncharitably called in mumbai was quite a commoner in my eyes. There were many others but I remember these. They all were of different vintages and design philosophies but in themselves complete. It is the 190 I think that caused me to go out of whack as far as cars are concerned. Peering over the window sill looking into the gear knob, the chrome plated rings on the intrument panels and the lovely vertical grill with the blue and silver three pointed star decal crowned by the ring.
All through school, newspapers were scoured, magazines torn, posters collected and scrapbooks made. In this scrapbook is my first drawing of my car. A no-nonsense four door endowed with a childish yet learned sense of proportion. We'll call it the X One. More on this later.
The biggest help was the annual issue of World Cars. Every year in January 100 bucks spent on buying it outside Bandra station. We were in the 10th then and Shabbir and I would pore over the issue sitting in his classic Ford Escort.
Uncle, Shabbir's dad would tell us the difference between power and torque. How a morris minor would have a straight torque line tapering off only at a very high rpm. Later on one learnt that this is a typical characteristic of long stroke engines. He was working on a concept that I still remember. One that I will always remember but not reveal as I have not tested it. Uncle was not very talkative but a great teacher when he wanted to be. His garage was a favourite hangout place for me. And I would often go there to meet Shabbir.
Shabbir and I would often talk in respectful awed tones, me I suspect more than him about Ferrari, Bertone, Guigiaro, Pininfarina, Zagato and Gandini. The gods of design. The altar which we longed to worship at but convinced that we would die in this heathen hell untouched by divinity.
Time passed in a desultory fashion with insipid ideas floating around in the heads of indian auto manufacturers. They got a nissan chery engine in a Lada body and called it 118 NE (Nissan Engined). Why for heaven's sake can't they get the Chery body also. Die cost saving cheapos!!!! HM launched the Contessa and the tinpot Trekker. For a while the government pretended that it was favouring those in high places by giving them contessas. The Standard auto company launched the the Standard 2000 a rust bucket from day one with a horribly rattly engine with no power!!! Indian auto industry dying fast. Before that the Standard Herald 4 door popped up and popped out faster than you could say Muthiah!!
The Maruti will not be mentioned but the Dolphin will be as it suffered at the hands of the govt's policy that blatantly favoured below 800 cc 4 door cars...conveniently only the maruti met that criteria....Tata's proposal to tie up with Honda for passenger cars was very much in keeping with the spirit of the Rajiv Gandhi joint venture era...allwyn nissan, eicher mitsubishi, dcm toyota, birla yamaha et al were doing well...but of course as they were not competing with Maruti. Dolphin was. And Tata would be so he was denied. A similar more sordid story would be repeated with the singapore airlines proposal. Sometimes I think we should give the group a bharat ratna just for staying put.
I was introduced to Indian Auto Journal then. Rajesh Mirajkar and his spartan public conveyance and private vehicle designs electrified me. Concept cars came into my world. Designs seen like never before. Some time later a new fella left Corvette (I know I know GM) and came here to design fantastically exotic looking cars. Dilip Chhabria is his name but his styling while very influenced by Zagato to my mind is not harmonious. And build quality suspect. So it has remained, despite his company doing fantastically well.
College meant I would travel easily to churchgate to pick up not only World Cars but also foreign issues of Car&Driver and Track&Road. My knowledge was increasing by leaps and bounds. As I grew interested in other things...India was opening up. Hyundai, Daewoo, ford, Opel all came in one by one... But where were the Indian companies? Which brings me to the question I wanted to ask...so I better come to the point quickly. Let me speed things up.
But after all these years, Tata had created a
Tatamobile. No, not a cell phone. It was india's first attempt at a pick up truck. Not bad considering the truckers got the looks part right, they were heavily influenced by the Benz cars they were assembling for MB. But the build level esp NVH was all wrong. Car versions came out like crazy. And the one from Nicholas coachbuilders my favourite. Horrible build quality though. Tata Estate was better but marginally so. Then came the Tata Sierra. And then Ratan Tata had a vision to make a people's car. No not the Nano...that would come later.
This was the Indica. And when it was revealed at the Auto Show in Delhi, it became the first product launch that I saw on TV and cried. So far it is the only one. Something indescribable when Ratan came on stage and the car was revealed. guess somewhere there was closure of sorts. It was a people's car alright. Designed by IDEA. So obviously there were similarities to the FIAT car of same vintage and dimensions the Palio, tailgate, boot, hood slope and doors. But the Tatas never got me the car I wanted. They took an Ambassador sized car and gave it wheels of a 800. Still make this mistake for all their cars (except the Safari) and variants. Look at the Manza and the Indigo. Don't give me engineering and rolling resistance theory, as it doesn't wash. They could have used thin steel instead of that ton heavy armour plate they were using, make it lighter so the wheels of proper size could be put in place. Still am very proud of it but also pissed at tata motors for not rounding off the job properly. Build and all those habits will come eventually but styling is something that defines you. And not getting the proportions right is so wrong.
Mahindras, the chaps who plied us with jeeps of all kinds were getting into passenger vehicles. It was so exciting. After the Commander, Armada and Bolero, Project Scorpio is a whole new company within a company (like GM's Saturn Project) would herald the company's entry into the passenger segment. Cover stories preceded the launch and when the car arrived and I was massively underwhelmed. It was a jeep like any other. Closed yes. But that old Willys Station Wagon had more character. over the years when I had a few rides in it, I appreciated the cars solidity and ride. But Mahindra wasn't content...no....no. They gave us the Xylo and the Gio two of the ugliest vehicles known to man. Tata tried to compete by giving us the Nano. They have patented the 'too-small a wheel' ugliness and taken it to new levels. So I ask myself this question...
When indian auto companies make enough money to buy Jaguar and Land Rover and Ssangyong...can't they buy a little bit of sensibility to design a better looking vehicle. It doesn't cost more...just need to make the effort so why aren't they putting it there?
Especially when we are getting the Fortuners, Q7s and the M1s on the same roads. The Citys and the Ventos on the same parking lots? Why? Why? Why?
When I an average Indian can see it, why can't they? Why?
I has this question for many years but as it was dormant it lay still, after seeing what the new Xylo looks like and the ridiculous honeycomb grille of the XUV500 the torrent became an outpour.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
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