Good afternoon, Ms Mamata Banerjee." One can only hope that the Trinamool Congress leader would be equally polite, if unrepentant, were Ratan Tata to thus greet her following the launch of the Nano in Mumbai. In an event that made international headlines, the launch of the world's cheapest car evoked pride and admiration for what Ratan Tata and Tata Motors have achieved, with a touch of envy and perhaps even fear among Tata Motors' rivals. "We did not set out to make the world's cheapest car," Tata said more than once. "We set out to make an affordable transport for the Indian family." Always at the back of his mind was the image of a family of four perched precariously on a two-wheeler. He decided to give them a proper car, which they could afford and take pride in owning. On March 23, he kept his promise. The promise he made, as much to himself as to the media, took six years to fruition. The project that the "world said could not be done" broke many conventions of car design and manufacturing along the way