The last of the legendary Tatas has breathed his last today. Tata, name synonymous with ethical business practices, awe inspiring charities, jaw dropping businesses right from making a pin to flying planes has lost last of the Tata family doyens. Businesses are run professionally and in very capable hands and they won’t feel the pinch. What will feel is the positivity that Ratan Tata and his predecessors brought when they interacted with people, the warmth and the vibes that they exuded, the abilities and the strength they displayed in building India over the last century and a half, right from Jamshedji Tata to JRD Tata and Ratan Tata.
Ratan, as his name suggested, was truly a jewel. Not too many people leave this world stating they did not like Ratan Tata. He was so well respected among all the businessmen and people would automatically stand up in awe. He was truly a Bharat Ratna – he was a Ratna (Ratan) by birth but was truly one because of his deeds and his conduct. Ratan Tata even in his last days had started slouching and one could feel the walk was getting strained but what wasn’t was the confidence he brought to the table.
Parsis have had phenomenal success in India and for the community that almost competes with Tigers in being extinct (ok, a poetic exaggeration) but in the larger scheme of things, their numbers have been dwindling at an alarming rate. What isn’t is the accolades and the stars and stripes Tata group continued to acquire and pile up. Think of the top ten business houses in the world, you are likely to find a Tata mention there but more so, if you look at the ethical business houses, Tata will feature on the Mount Rushmore. Can’t think of other businesses thinking of customers, employees, shareholders first. The biggest value Tatas taught the world is in the number of charities and donations that Tata’s various trusts empowered through their support.
Ratan Tata had returned from Los Angeles to join the Tata empire and catapulted to the center stage once his cousin JRD Tata had sailed into the ages. Tata group, which was once India focused group, embraced the international expansion as India became the global powerhouse. With due respect to other business houses, Tata was a word which was synonymous with quality and ethics. Humility has been the forte of Tatas and Ratan had that in abundance. No mention of Ratan Tata could be without his love for dogs, and he even invested in startups to take care of strays.
Ratan Tata’s leadership was very visible and how he invested in and led the creation of Nano. Though Nano, people’s inexpensive car was a rather failed attempt, he had the courage to think big for common man and had taken setbacks from West Bengal Government not allowing him to rebounding through his roots in Gujarat and making the Nano dream a reality. There have been countless leadership lessons which came out of Ratan Tata stable.
Before Tesla made the letter T famous, Tatas made it famous to a fifth of the world’s population.
Today is World’s loss as they have lost a legend, a doyen, a jewel, a Ratan who personified humility, ethics, and above all, thought big. If humility had other name, it might be called Ratan Tata
RIP Sir Ratan Tata. It was an honor living in the world powered by your leadership.
