It’s Getting Hot In Here

It is 8:30 pm on January 10th, 2008. I am writing from the famous Ranthambore National Park–known for its tigers–where 80% of the world’s “tiger in the wild” photos are taken. I have been on two game drives and seen no tigers. It is said that there are somewhere between 30 o 40 tigers in this 400 sq. km sanctuary. Much has been done to protect the species from certain extinction on his subcontinent of 1.03 billion people. Here the battle that will determine which India wins–the urban/”shining India” or the rural/depressed India–is being waged on the basis of land. As people are moved out of parks to make way for non-community based conservation in this part of India, on the eastern side of the country people are being bought off (forcibly) from productive farm lands to make way for an auto manufacturing plant. This single manufacturing plant is going to redefine the way the world moves–starting with the Indians.

It is 8:45 pm on January 10th, 2008 and on TV I am seeing the long awaited release of the “People’s Car” by India’s Tata Motors. The car is the cheapest the world has seen yet with a base price of Rs. 1 Lakh (US$2500)–all of this having met the Indian safety standards as well as pollution standards (Euro IV). The idea was to provide a car within easier reach of India’s burgeoning middle class and despite all the nay-sayers, Tata may have pulled this off. It is a four door car with a 33 hrs power engine and it is called the “Nano.” This name being chosen to signify the innovation possibilities (of doing a lot with a little) thanks to improvements in technology. Unfortunately the car may be diesel powered - wreaking havoc on the reduced suspended particulates achieved in cities like New Delhi through forced use of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) by he city’s public transport. However it is said to have fuel efficiency of 20 km/L or 50 mpg–which is just as good as any Japanese Hybrid. And if the world DOES figure out biofuels, then the diesel engine may not be so bad.

Whether this car will truly benefit the “common man,” presumably those living in rural areas as argued by some of the car’s advocates, or simply turn into a traffic and pollution nightmare for the already taxed urban Indian–is yet to be seen. Rest assured its impact will send ripple effects across the globe–be it global fuel price or temperature rise (and I won’t even mention the hike in consumption of resources used for the construction of the vehicle–yes it’s steel!).

It is 9:00pm on January 10th, 2008. The world will look back on this day surely. I do not know whether I will see any tigers tomorrow either, but I know that I am a little bit more uncertain about their future in this new India which has turned yet another page on its path of industrialization.

Tigers: Here today, gone tomorrow?

Tata Nano: Coming soon to a store near…you?

*Jan. 11, 2008* I did not see any tigers today and I found out that none have been spotted within the last few days by anyone on a game drive.