Congratulations Mr. Ratan Tata. The first Nano car priced at Rs. 100,000 will be unveiled today. My vegetable vendor has been waiting eagerly for its debut and has been keenly following its arrested pregnancy, prolonged labour and delayed delivery. But at last the baby is here and long may she live and prosper. Alas, already some blackhearts are beginning to criticise her. One woman, interviewed on television, was lamenting the fact that since it is so cheap every beggar and his aunt will buy one creating more congestion on roads and more pollution. Why is it that Indians are so willing to accept that others, especially whites, are entitled to a far superior standard of living than us? Is it something in the water or have our politicians so successfully brain washed us that we are terrified to even imagine that we should be living like Americans where there are some 900 cars for every thousand individuals? It is the aam aadmi disease in which people are deliberately kept poor by extortionate taxes while the politicians and kleptocrats use the money so raised to live lavish lives as khas aadmis. There is no doubt that mobiles help the poor in many ways. Farmers and fishermen use their mobiles to find the best prices for their produce thus eliminating middlemen. Sadly companies have to turn over 30% of their revenue in the form of various taxes whereas this is 5% in other Asian countries. How long before the Nano is taxes out of reach?