The world's cheapest car, it was one opulence arrival.
More than 1,000 people -- journalists, VIPS and industrialists -- packed an auditorium on Thursday as Tata Motors Ltd unveiled its long-awaited "People's Car" in a media circus more worthy of a pop concert or an Oscar ceremony.
For those wanting to feel India's economic self-confidence as it takes on the world, all they had to do was to experience the blaring music from "2001: A Space Odyssey" and the flashes of scores of cameras as the Tata Nano was driven out.
It condensed years of anticipation into one moment of mayhem.
"I haven't seen this many cameras in my six years in South Asia," said one veteran journalist. "You couldn't even buy advertising like this."
Ahead of the launch, major news channels devoted several minutes of airtime to live footage of a dark and empty stage where the car, a hatchback that is priced at about half the cost of the current cheapest car, would be unveiled.
"A promise is a promise," Chairman Ratan Tata said, as he announced a dealer price of 100,000 rupees ($2,500) as pledged five years ago, even though commodity prices have gone up and despite rivals' claims such a knock-down price was impossible.
Travel Advice India
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