RIP Ratan Tata: Hyderabad Parsi's remember the humane industrialist who touched every Indian's life

Hyderabad: An industrialist who would have been a billionaire if he had not given away most of his wealth to various charities. A humane animal lover who instructed his staff that stray dogs were never to be turned away, even at his iconic Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai.

A down-to-earth person who stood in line to board his flights and travel mostly in economy class, a colossus who strode head and shoulders taller than the rest of the present lot of industrialists and never hesitated to donate substantial sums of money to cancer and Covid relief during lockdown. Nor did he hesitate a moment before rehabilitating his staff during the Mumbai terror attack. He even donated money to the roadside hawkers outside the Taj Hotel. He was Ratan Tata.

He left a lasting impression on all those who met him, however fleetingly. M R Vikram, Partner M Anandam & Co, Chartered Accountants says, “This was my solitary experience with him; I was representing a client making ophthalmic lenses. My client was doing very well. In my good old intrepid ways, I identified a Tata company ‘Resilens’ making identical lenses, a good brand, and a pioneer in introducing resin lenses in India as a substitute for glass lenses but incurring huge losses. My client, Techtran, had the manufacturing capacity with superior technology and a smaller labor force (we had 200 against Tata’s 700). I guessed they would never make profits with this kind of labor force and we would never have a brand as strong as Resilens. I convinced my client that we should buy Resilens from Tatas. The irrational exuberance of youth, one can say. Somehow, I managed to reach Soonavala, the chairman of the company. Discussions with Tata are like discussions with the government. (They are called the Government of Tata, for a good reason). Painfully slow, exacting detail, many committees but there is a forward movement each time. After a year, there was a final meeting with Mr Soonavala. We agreed on the price and some mechanics of the transfer of the company. Soonavala in that meeting said his Chairman Ratan Tata had a small question and would like a clarification on that. In the stately Bombay House, he walked across the corridor to Ratan Tata’s room came back, and said Ratan Tata would want to see me very briefly. I walked in with him and he was obviously in a hurry and quickly asked me a question “Mr. Vikram, What will you do with the 700 employees who you say are not needed”? I said, ‘We would retrench them, I guess.’ He looked at Soonavala and said ‘No deal: please explain to this young man our Tata philosophy.’

We walked out and Soonavala said, “You see, we do not want our employees out of job on transition even as they would be paid retrenchment compensation. Tata employees are our family and we would like you to continue their employment for at least five years!” The deal fell through. I was initially flabbergasted that Tata did not understand the economics of running a business. As I walked out, it dawned on me what it takes to run a conglomerate for more than 100 years. People are not salaried employees bound by contracts. They are living assets who have trusted their future with Tatas. That goes beyond contractual obligations. I never factored this into my narrow thinking and must admit that my view of corporate livelihoods has changed since then. His simple words, high ethics, and clarity of his view of business ethos are something to be proud of. His extreme compassion for the victims of the Bombay terrorist attack is a fine example of what he thought of the people who worked with Tatas.”

There are many little-known facts about the legend. For instance, he loved surfing and flying. As an architecture student at Cornell in the US, a young Ratan Tata washed airplanes at the local flying club to gain flying hours. That was in the 50s when the Indian government had restricted the amount one could spend abroad to $180 a month. Since flying was expensive, he had to become a cleaner to chase his passion for flying. Later when he returned to India, Ratan Tata became a virtual pilot for Tata Steel, flying people across the country for business work. But what gave him a real thrill was a 100-minute supersonic flight from France to America in a Mirage from Dassault while training at an aeronautical school. Along with the thrills come the chills. Once, an engine of the light aircraft he was flying failed. "First the plane shook like hell, and then the engine quit," he later recalled in an interview. He added, "The propeller stopped turning. You had to focus on how to get down. But my passengers were very quiet. Nobody said a word till we got down." Years later in 2007, in a remarkable achievement, he became the first Indian to pilot an F-16 Falcon, a testament to his passion for the world of aviation.

Colonel S Ashwin Naidu has this anecdote to relate: “I flew him for a ride in my Microlight aircraft 12 years ago in Mumbai. We took off from the USI golf course along the marine drive. He said, 'You know how many permissions I had to take to fly around this area Ashwin?’ He was walking his German shepherd and came up to meet me. I offered him a ride and Ratan Tata jumped at the idea. That was a truly momentous occasion that will be cherished all my life.”

Jehangir Bisney, Trustee, Parsi Zoroastrian Anjuman of Secunderabad and Hyderabad says, “It's rare to see the world mourn the demise of an industrialist and feel a sense of personal loss. Ratan Tata lived his life with humility and grace giving everything he had to make the world a better place. He was a 'Ratan' of the Parsi community, of India and truly of the world.

We have probably seen the last of such icons. Mr. Ratan N. Tata, with his rich Parsi heritage, was a leader who has always led with his heart. His love for dogs shows the gentle, compassionate side that shone through in everything he did. To him, business was never just about success, but about making a difference, lifting others, and creating a legacy of kindness and care. A true inspiration, he reminds us that greatness comes from humility, love, and the desire to do good for others.”