I'm a Master in India

Chapter 256: Affordable for Everyone

In September, the rainy season in Mumbai was just ending. The entire city felt as if it had taken a bath, and the air suddenly became sweet and fresh.

Trees, bushes, and grass released their fragrance, and long earthworms poked their heads out of the soft soil.

People in Mumbai opened their windows, letting the rain-washed air pour into their homes, bringing a good night's sleep.

Housewives and children leaning by the windows, or men standing on balconies smoking and relaxing, suddenly noticed that the entire city had put on new clothes.

Giant posters were erected on every landmark building and every commercial square.

They were pasted on the glass facades of buildings or at the top of shopping mall entrances.

The content of the posters was simple: a television, a beautiful and trendy television.

Beside it was a large advertising slogan: Sur, the television everyone can afford.

Where the price should have been written, it was replaced by three question marks.

Huh? This unconventional advertisement immediately sparked people's curiosity.

A television everyone can afford? Interesting.

Living in Mumbai, who wouldn't want to own their own television?

Since 1992, after the media industry opened up, Mumbai has seen the addition of more than a dozen private television stations.

They covered everything from news and politics to strange and unusual stories.

As private television stations, their content was more sensational and bolder than that of official channels like All India.

Certain exciting programs were specifically broadcast late at night, and no man could resist such content.

Housewives also liked to watch television; most of them didn't work and could only stay at home.

Cleaning, cooking, and taking care of children only occupied a small part of their day, leaving them with nothing to do for most of the remaining time.

The only form of entertainment suitable for staying at home was television.

However, televisions were too expensive, often costing tens of thousands of rupees, which even ordinary middle-class families couldn't afford.

Sometimes, even if you wanted to buy one, you couldn't necessarily find one, as the production of local brands fluctuated unpredictably.

Now, the advertisement for Sur Electrical Appliances has arrived, and it immediately captured people's hearts as soon as it appeared.

Affordable for everyone, how cheap must it be?

At least it should be a little lower than the market price, 7,000 rupees?

That's still a bit expensive; Onida and Videocon are priced around 8,000.

Since Sur Electrical Appliances dares to say this, the price must be eye-popping.

6,000? This price is indeed a bit exciting.

Men smoking on the balconies began discussing with their neighbors the possibility of the Sur television selling for 6,000 rupees.

Some thought it was difficult because India's high tariffs were a stumbling block; otherwise, the other two companies wouldn't have kept their prices unchanged for several years.

Some thought 6,000 rupees was very possible; Sur's electric fans were cheaper than other brands, so why not televisions?

However, as they talked, they themselves became less confident, especially after looking at the posters outside the window.

Look at that television, how beautiful it is.

The black design is deeply captivating, and the silver frame extends to the sides with smooth curves, elegant and luxurious.

This clearly looks like a high-end product, so how could it sell for 6,000 rupees?

It's not surprising that everyone thought this way, because the local televisions were too poor.

Can you imagine? A television set bought for 8,000 rupees has a wooden casing!

Yes, that's right, purely handmade.

To save costs, the two local manufacturers ingeniously came up with a wooden casing.

The Indian subcontinent has a hot climate, and vegetation is especially abundant, so there is no shortage of resources like wood.

What is also not lacking is extremely cheap labor; the wooden casings for televisions are all handmade by them.

The design doesn't need to be too exquisite, just generally acceptable. Cut the wooden board, polish the edges a bit, and then paint it, done.

Plastic is much more expensive, several times that of wood. Injection molding machines for processing plastic are even more expensive, starting at two million rupees.

Local manufacturers were already importing parts at high prices, so of course they would save wherever possible.

It was this kind of wooden, cheap, and rough television that could sell for 8,000 rupees.

So, how much would Sur Electrical Appliances' television, like black crystal, sell for?

6,000 is a bit too aggressive, but the words "affordable for everyone" kept flashing before everyone's eyes.

The price marked with question marks made people even more anxious.

People were so curious that they were discussing it even when they were squeezing onto the city train for work.

As a result, on the train and in the office, the newspapers they received also featured advertisements for Sur televisions.

On the front page, the content was similar to the posters outside, but it provided more information.

"The television everyone can afford, the price will be revealed in a week."

Major newspapers in India, local newspapers in several large cities, almost all carried this advertisement for Sur Electrical Appliances.

The saturation bombing immediately made Sur televisions a hot topic of discussion.

People had never seen such novel advertising marketing. Both "affordable for everyone" and the suspenseful price attracted the attention of the public.

Traditional Indian advertisements wanted to shove the price in the audience's faces, but Sur Electrical Appliances did the opposite.

People's thoughts are always strange; the more you don't say, the more curious they become.

This topic has become a topic of conversation after meals, gradually transforming into a social hot spot.

Ashish greatly admired the Boss's mind. As soon as he went out in the morning, people surrounded him asking how much the factory's televisions would sell for.

Although Karma Courtyard is classified as a Slum, most of the residents here are workers from Sur Electrical Appliances.

Their combined two months' salary is completely sufficient to consume high-end products like televisions.

The building has water and electricity, and the family has beds to sleep on, no longer needing to sleep on the floor. This kind of life is already very close to the legendary middle class.

Now, all that's missing is a television set, which is proof of your entry into the middle class.

Taj Mahal is the stepping stone for self-improvers, and the Sur television is the identification plate for middle-class families.

Everyone was eager to move, but Ashish kept his mouth shut.

This is a commercial secret of Sur Electrical Appliances, how could it be easily revealed?

According to the strategy set by Ron, the news should only be released on the last day of this week, by which time the word-of-mouth has almost completely fermented.

After giving a few vague answers, Ashish hurried away from Karma Courtyard.

Today is his day off, so he doesn't have to work. He is going out to Mira Road, where his house has been renovated.

The apartment is still a bit far from Karma Courtyard, so he has to take the city train. The advertisements at the station are for migrant workers eager to leave Mumbai: "Looking for work overseas? Read ×× Newspaper."

Station advertisements are also for urbanites longing for a return to rural life, mostly framed in glass and hung on the wall, neighboring stray dogs dozing in alcoves.

"Anker Farm in Tukash Village (Farmhouses for sale) has twenty mango trees, ten cashew trees, ten other fruit trees (forty in total), only twenty rupees per square meter."

People hurried in the morning and hurried away at night. They quickly glanced at the advertisements in the station, holding onto fantasies to silently endure their superiors' imperious commands, and gritting their teeth to endure the packed train carriages on the way back.

They kept telling themselves: there will be such a small village, there will be such a small house in the village, surrounded by dense fruit trees, heavy fruits bending the branches, waiting to be picked, the orchard is peaceful and quiet, just like childhood spent on grandmother's farm.

Ashish used to have such fantasies, but not anymore, because he has already moved up to a higher level.

Whether you live comfortably in this city depends entirely on whether you have money.

If you have money, you don't need to work overseas, nor do you need to enjoy rural life in the countryside; Mumbai has everything you want.

Of course, most residents of the city are ordinary people; they hope to buy the most cost-effective goods with the least amount of money.

Just like the huge poster in the station square, the poster for the Sur television.

Affordable for everyone, what a friendly phrase.

Three white-collar women were pointing at the poster in english, seemingly commenting on the television's stylish appearance.

A middle-aged man with thinning hair also looked up, his eyes unblinking.

A child tugged at his mother's hand, refusing to leave the area beneath the poster, crying and wanting to take this big toy home.

Young people with ear piercings also showed longing in their eyes. He really liked a program on a certain private channel but could only squeeze into a roadside shop to watch it.

Ashish smiled, he heard the call of desire, the whole city was whispering.

There were also advertisements for Sur televisions in the train carriage. Passengers who were squeezed and unable to move could only stare at the advertisements to pass the time boredom.

Perhaps you didn't care at first, but as long as it appears in front of you for long enough, you will eventually take it seriously.

Ashish let out a sigh of satisfaction; his emotional value for the day had been completely filled.

The new home on Mira Road, like the apartment Laju lives in, is very Western-style.

Nearby developers perhaps wanted to create a certain European atmosphere, so they gave European-style names, even if they were misspelled.

For example, Tanwo Gaochi, which should actually be "Tanwo Heights," and Chandreshmeian, which probably corresponds to "Chandresh Coast."

But they were built after all, with hundreds of buildings scattered everywhere, and some were unfinished, waiting for housing prices to soar one day before restarting construction.

The seemingly magnificent appearance of the community buildings gave residents the illusion of owning luxury and being in a foreign country; their imagined exoticism must be "luxurious."

Ordinary people in Mumbai can do without continuous power supply, 24-hour tap water supply, and wide, flat roads. But they cannot do without grandeur, they cannot lose face.

Ashish took a good look at this European-style community before preparing to enter the gate.

But someone stopped him, a neighbor from the same unit as him, who specialized in being a distributor.

"Brother, everyone is talking about your television now. So what's the price, I'm planning to get a batch."

"Aren't you selling perfume?" Ashish asked strangely.

"What I sell is not up to me; it depends on what the market needs. Just tell me if this is worth pursuing, I'm planning to go big."

"I can only say it's unprecedented, it will cause a major earthquake."

"Really?" The man's eyes lit up.

"We'll start taking orders tomorrow, don't say I didn't warn you."

Ashish was full of confidence; the Sur television was about to go on sale.

They have prepared a month's worth of goods, with two production lines running day and night.