India’s ‘Ratan’ says ‘Tata’ to everyone before leaving for the heavenly abode; Simi Garewal mourn his death
Kanwar Inder Singh/ royalpatiala.in News/ October 10,2024
Padam Vibhushan Ratan Naval Tata, revered industrialist, philanthropist and chairman emeritus of one of India’s biggest conglomerates, Tata Sons, died at the age of 86 on Wednesday night. He had been undergoing treatment for prolonged illness at Mumbai’s Breach Candy Hospital for the last few days. Tata’s passing marks the end of an era in India’s industrial and philanthropic history.
N Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons, in a late night statement on Wednesday, announced the death of Mr Tata, hailing the industrialist’s unwavering commitment to excellence, integrity, and innovation.
Ratan Tata was born in Bombay, now Mumbai, during the British Raj, into a Parsi Zoroastrian family, on 28 December 1937. He became chairman of the $100 billion steel-to-software conglomerate in 1991 and ran the group founded by his great-grandfather more than a hundred years ago until 2012.
Tata’s relatives have informed that his mortal remains will be kept at the National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA) in south Mumbai from 10 am to 4 pm on Thursday for people to pay respect.
Though admired by millions, Ratan Tata never married or had children. Ratan Tata remained single. Interestingly, four times such a situation arose, he almost got married. But could not get married due to various reasons. He once said that he fell in love while working in Los Angeles. But due to Indo-China war in 1962, the girl’s parents opposed sending her to India. He did not marry after that.
Simi Garewal his ex-girlfriend shared a post on her X account “They say you have gone ..It’s too hard to bear your loss..too hard.. Farewell my friend..#RatanTata”
India’s ‘Ratan’ says ‘Tata’ to everyone before leaving for the heavenly abode; Simi Garewal mourn his death. Simi Garewal, actress admitted to having dated the iconic businessman. In an interview with The Times of India in 2011, Simi shared, “Ratan and I go back a long way. He’s perfection, he’s got a sense of humour, is modest and the perfect gentleman. Money was never his driving force. He’s not as relaxed in India as he is abroad.” Although their relationship didn’t last, the two remained close friends, and Ratan even appeared on Simi’s talk show Rendezvous with Simi Garewal.
Tata Group founder Jamshedji Tata is Ratan Tata’s great-grandfather. His parents separated in 1948 when he was only ten years old and he was brought up by his maternal grandmother, Nawazbai Tata, his grandmother and widow of Ratanji Tata.
Tata studied at the Campion School, Mumbai till the 8th class. After which, he studied at the Cathedral and John Connon School in Mumbai, the Bishop Cotton School in Shimla, and the Riverdale Country School in New York City, which he graduated from in 1955. He graduated from the Cornell University College of Architecture with a bachelor’s degree in architecture. He joined Tata in 1961, where he worked on the shop floor of Tata Steel. He later succeeded J. R. D. Tata as chairman of Tata Sons upon the latter’s retirement in 1991. Upon turning 75, Ratan Tata resigned his executive powers in the Tata group on 28 December 2012. During his tenure the Tata Group acquired Tetley, Jaguar Land Rover, and Corus, in an attempt to turn Tata from a largely India-centric group into a global business.
