We'll miss the Maruti 800

Discontinuing manufacture of the car of the people will leave behind many memories, and a tinge of sadness

'Papfl, 111ere koMamti khoreed do no'. 'fro beti, kol chfllenge'

This conversation won't be bappening anymore, as Maruti Suzuki has taken the decisio n to stop producing the original, muchloved Maruti 800 It was cheap, affo rdabl e, the yo ung loved i t and the old felt in control driving it. lf it broke down, it was light enougb to push along, and almost any worksbop in rhe country could repair iL It was miserly with petrol and was known to carr y a whole baraot, well almost!

'So J1Jhat is cot11111011 het1J1em a 1Waruti {l!I(/ fl hae111on1Joirlproblem?'

'Everyone gets it soo11er or late,'.

Tbe reality is that almost everyone did have a 1-farnci, and a long the residential streets of Delhi it seemed as i f rbeir numbers grew overnight, like mushrooms in the dark. The Maruti seemed to be a part of the family and eaougb jokes were told about it to fill vol L1mes.

But it was nor always such lightbearted fun. Go ing back in histor y we mi ght recall the dour days of the stagnantlndian economy, infl uenced by the Soviet style 5-year plans when the only cars on the streets were the Fiat 1100 and the Hindustan Ambassador from Italy and Englan d, respectively These models, already th rown onto the scrap heaps in their countries of orig in, were introduced in to India in the l 950s and 60s and for decades, were the only vehicles co be seen chugging around tbe streets Surely, this discouraging state of affairs could not continue forever.

The public was disenchanted.

The cars available were expensive, one had to join a waiting list when placing an order, and then accept whatever colour of car chat was offered. New cars were already out-dated, did noc have pleasing designs, had little cllaracter and were basic in tl1e extreme. The public was being taken for a ride! Then along came the swashbuckling San ja y Gandhi, son of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi This young ma.n had taken to tinkering with motor vehicles in his younger days and co consolidate bis learning, he served an apprenticeship w ith Rolls Royce in E ngland. He came back to lndja with a vision of produci ng an indigenou sly made car from scratch that woL11d be affordable for the masses. The favourite son was soon given a licence to produce an automobile. The name 'Maruti' was chosen and Gandhi set about making the automobile he had visualised. Regrettabl y, his efforts came to naught as he underestimated the complexity involved in producing a road- wo r thy m achine.

In Mrs Gandhi's second term as PM she resurrected her son's id ea which clearly had a lot going for it, and set about rnaking i t a reality, in earnest. The rest is history!

1n 2012, the 10 millionth Maruti was sold. Of the series, abouc2.8 million Mat u ri 800s were sold i n all, and this car has been exported co man y cOLmtries. Even th e Kathmandu ta.xi Aeet is almost entirel y made up of these cars.

The introduction of the Maru ri 800 was more than jus t another car from which to choose. It

, was a breath of fresh air. The countr y was being released from tbe shackles of cbe Fiat and Ambassador. There was now a choice, a more modern, u p -todace design and e ngine. \'\Then a country is used to carrying a family of four o n a scoote r, the tiny 5 -door hatchback felt more like a limousine. Ar a price of around two -thirds of that of a Fiat, the demand for ch is car simply skyrocketed!

After using it for a few yea rs, m y aunr wanted ro sell her Maruti 800. "You can't do that, we'll have it", said ber children. So the 800 wen t down the line from parents ro children and o nto fr iends Like a per, one ju st doesn't hmTe the heart to gee rid of i t.

But the time has come! Maruti Suzuki announced that they are discontinuing production of their original Maruti 800. Maybe chis sho uld be a time of sadness in India. Now with a choice of almost I 00 cars, the 800 bas bad its rime and goes om q uietly.

Bue surely it will be the one remembered, when many ocher models have faded from memory.

From $49 Online Tax return

An open letter to cricket great Mahendra Singh Dhoni begs him and the team to try just a little harder

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BY SANAM SHARMA &,c

SDhoni,Ihad

Mco write this letter to you, mate. For my own sanity. And perhaps also for the sanity of a few million others. We are those who cheer for you and the team of men you lead. Cheer you relentlessly, at home and ove rseas alike.

We are the most optimistic race on the planet. Un.fl.inching optimism, mostly, in the face of extreme sporting adve rsity usually inflicted b y your men upon themselves And in turn on us.

D o not get me wrong \'(/e stand by yo u Always have, always will Your success, although sporadic an d often inconsistent, makes us proud We wake up at odd hours to watch you guys p lay Tin1e zones do not maner much to us. They just ensure we set the correct alarms on our clocks. If we can get a chance to get down to tl1e ground, we do so in all out splendour, co.lour, and Hamboyance.

A bad day at tl1e office is expected and widely acceptable. However, don't you th ink a bad tour, after a bad tour, after a bad tour (especially on foreign shores) is a tad bit frustrating?

And annoying And as it would seem watch ing from far away, the inability to l earn from previous m ismkes, may enhance the grievance that us lnruan cricket fans h arbor.

You are n ot individually respo nsible fo r the misery the Indian fans und ergo whi le watching your team dish out su bstandard performances (again, more frequently on overseas tours). However, you are the skipper and hence, the obvious "go to" man. Even for the fans ow, witl1 m y personal rant out of the way, he re's wh at I wouJd like yo u to address, please.

First and foremost, scout so me feisty balling talent. I beg yo u.

And .L mean, the Johnson, Steyn, Morke~ Harris, Siddle, Akram and Younis equivalents. Io skill, f:itoess, and temperao1eot. Fast, brutally fast, bullish, and in your face. Pro nto. Tt's 11ot yo ur role to select players, you may protest. If yo u know some in domestic Indian circles, or the IPL, pus h the BCCI to cut the red rape for such selections. Speed them tl1rough the ranks.

Go on a dhama (protest) for this cause, if you have co. The current Delhi CM may lend support coo (not for tl1e cause i tself, but in o rganising a suitable ve nue, a mob, and utilities needed fo r the protest).

I will, and l know that sco res oiliers roo, will come our witl1 you for chis cause. And for on ce, ir will not be an trnconstinitional protest Let's make fast bowling in the Indian cricket team ranks a 140 kms p lus proposition Consistently. An d of course, with precision and accuracy

Secondly, grab all those batsm en in yo ur top o rde r who look and bebave like ''Bollywood" fol k most of tl,e time. Steroiy instruct them tl1at they will score more by Hi.rting with Bo.ll ywood ladies (in their spare time), and nor w ith balls outsid e the off stump (yoursel f in cluded). I have n ever held a bat in a competitive cricket g ame of any creclibility, and eve n T get tlnt d elive_ries o u tside off in rest matches have to be left a lone, most of th e times. This obsession has for a long time brought t be downfall o f Indian batters So isn't it hig h time tl1e top order learnt their lesson? And applied it to their batting perfor m ances? Didn't it work recently fo a test match in South Africa when they dug in and held gro1md? Gave us a chance co win a rare overseas test match. Well, al m ost. U n til our "fast" bowlers let it drift away, yet again

You and your team have sufficient technical advice at your di spos al. Perhaps more than you lot may require or seek at times, you may argue. Coaches, consulrams, media con1menrators, and menrors of all so r ts pour out unending technical w isdom and o pinion towards e.n.banci ng (or sometimes critiquing) your performances

However, at the ve r y core of it is a human eleme nt of grit, determination, and purring up a light. The basic iliread of any spo r ting encounter. And this is where me perspective of a fan must matter and must be conveyed to you

We seek a iig bt. An earnest effort. Not an occasional o n e, but, ever y si ngle time. We yearn for sustai ned aggression from tl1e playing eleven. Io all departments of the gan1e

We want to stand up and scream our our lw1gs from tl1e stands when suc h aggression brings victories A nd men if a victory i s denied, we will still smod and applaud because your men v.rent down trying To meir very last b reath

Lastly, I am aware that tl1is letter may never reac h you. lt is insignifican t in me larger scheme of tl:ungs that matter for the Indian cricket team, or indeed, i ts captain. Yet, in life, if you feel strongly about something and you have a mess age, t hen l firmly believe it's wonh mking a leap of faith, putting a message like tl1is in a bottle a nd throwing i t our into tl1e ocean \Vho kn ows one day it may catcl1 a favoura b le wave on the social media and reac h you.

If it does, d o give it a thought. A good long thoug h t. Un ril then, we will all get back to w hat we do best. Support the Indian cricket team.

Cricket fans attending the ICC Cricket World Cup will be granted entry into Oz and NZ with just one visa

Cricket fans will only need one vi sa for entry into Australia and New Zealand when attending the ICC Cricket World Cup in 20 LS. This is welcome news for crici{et fans, as well as the Australian and New Zealand tourism industries

" This announcement means cricket fans wil l o n ly have ro secure a single visa ro be able to see games on bmh sides of the Tasman ," Tourism & Transport Forum Australia (TTF) Chief Execurive Ken Morrison said.

"It will make the process simp ler and cheap er, encouraging more visi tors to travel to both Australia and I ew Zealand, benefitting the tourism sectors in both c ountries. We cong ratulate Au sttalian Prime :tvI.iniste r Tony Abbott and New Zealand Prime :Minister John Key on this commonsense decision. The timing is perfect, too, with tickets to go on sale from ne."\t \Veek".

TIF and Tourism Industry Assoc iatio n New Zealand (TIA) are pleased that their campaign for the single visa was successful, as fan s will save time and money.

"Visi tors fro m countries like Lidia and Pakistan will o nl y have to apply and pay for one v isa instead of rwo," s aid TIA Po licy and Research Manager, Simon Wallace

Wal.lace also com m end s the "Aus tralia and New Zeala nd governments o n their fores ight in appreci ating the mutual ben efits this decision will bring. We alread )T have a close relationship with New Zeal and and reducing the barriers to travel between our two countries would serve to further d eepen tho se bond s" This is also important for next year, which is the centenary o f tbe ANZAC la ndings at Gallipoli "We believe an agreement to further streamline trans-Tasman travel would be an ideal way to commemorate that important anniversary," furthers Wal.lace

For Information on the above Hstlngs and numerous other businesses please emall

Chakrapani on ck@sbx.com.au www.sbx com.au /m.sbx.com.au