My Friend, Ratan Sir

How many shareholders get an opportunity to be friends with the country’s iconic industrialists? Not many, I dare say. I was lucky among the few. Being a nominal shareholder of Tata group of companies, and a Colaba resident with Parsi roots, much like the man himself, led to the beginning of a striking friendship with Ratan Tata.  

In 2006, while Tata was the chairman of the Tata group of companies, I attended the Annual General Meeting (AGM) for the first time in Mumbai. Our family’s association and affinity with the Tata group is old. My father and I owned the shares of all of the blue-chip companies of Tata. At the AGM, many shareholders were given a chance to speak about the company or its performance. I was among the thousands who had benefitted from the TCS going public a year ago. TCS was the ‘cash cow’ of Tata Sons but Ratan Tata selflessly converted it into a public limited company where all of us could gain in the prosperity and growth of TCS. The Tatas were always good to their consumers, shareholders, and employees.  

I had the good fortune of speaking at the AGM where I shared about the history of Tata industries and how the family truly inherited the background of nation builders. The story of how Jamsetji Tata built the Taj hotel and made it a real luxury hotel is interesting. In those days, the hotel had clocks, four electric elevators, overhead fans and refrigeration units imported from overseas, which accounted as luxury. Jamsetji forayed into the steel business because he wanted the nation to progress. But some foreigners provocatively told him, if at all Tatas can make the steel, then we will eat the steel. That’s how he started the first steel plant at Jamshedpur to prove them wrong. His ideas were further fructified by his son Dorabji Tata.  

There were hundreds in attendance for the AGM, but after the meeting, Ratan sir, came up to me and thanked me for my speech. He asked about me, what I was doing, and where I was staying. When I told him that I stayed in Colaba, he said since we stayed close by, we could meet sometimes. He also gave me his personal number. He said if I call at the Bombay House, they will never let me talk to him. I noted the number and forgot about it. I assumed he won’t call me.  

The next evening, I was at my local club when my phone rang. A very slow voice said something from the other hand. I was annoyed, thinking it was a spam call and spoke coldly. I then heard the words: “This is Mr Ratan Tata, I told you I would call you up, so I am calling you.” I promptly apologised for my grave misunderstanding, and he very humbly said: “It’s alright!”  

He thanked me again for my speech and for my support and encouragement to the Tata Group. Sensing an opportunity, I asked him if we could meet. He said: “Of Course”, and gave me the number of his personal assistant to fix an appointment.  

 Our first meeting was cancelled around seven times. Ratan sir was busy those days as he was travelling frequently for work and meetings. Finally, I was given an appointment at the Bombay House. When I reached and told the staff that I have a meeting with the chairman, they thought I was one of the bystanders and made me wait for a long time. They let me in for a private audience with Ratan sir at his house. I was slightly self-conscious, but the way he received me and treated me was like a personal friend and I soon forgot my worries. We spoke of our mutual interests and hobbies. Ratan sir loved flying planes, and I loved horse riding.  

He shared that he usually flew from the airstrip near Mahalaxmi Racecourse but stopped flying during the training sessions after he realised that the horse were getting agitated with the sound of the plane at low height. “I always fly when there’s no riding,” he said. As a parting note, because of my deep interests in the Tata family, he gave me a video CD of Keepers of the Flame, a film on the family's history. 

We vibed well and after that we kept in touch on the phone through messages. He called me once in a while and we met at his house. I presented him with a sketch of his beloved dogs Tito and Tango, made painstakingly by my friend Padma Shri awardee, miniature artist, Jai Prakash. Ratan sir was so touched by the sketch, he exclaimed: “He has absolutely got their faces correct!” After that the artist made a portrait of Ratan sir and I arranged their meeting at Bombay House. Ratan sir was not only pleased to meet Jai Prakash but told him that he would like him to paint for a project by the Tata Trusts. He later came to see us off, right up to the road!  

Around 2016, I supported him tremendously during his public spat with CEO Cyrus Mistry. We used to have frequent conversations by then. I was privy to some of the internal developments over the issue. One day, I told him: “Sir, you've made a huge mistake.” He didn't say anything at that time. Next day, he invited me for a meeting on the future course of action where all the top officials of Tata companies and some shareholders were present. In front of them all, he said: “I made a mistake and now we have to correct it.” He later said he was thankful to realise his mistake or else he would have lost the confidence of the industry. After he was outed, Mistry was made CEO in the interim period till the appointment of the new CEO.  

Of our half dozen meetings and myriad phone interactions, including WhatsApp messages I particularly remember our discussions on health issues. Last year, upon seeing a video of Ratan sir where his body was stiff, my uncle, an eminent cardiologist in the US, asked me if Ratan sir had Parkinsons. Out of concern, I straight away messaged him to ask whether he had developed Parkinsons. I didn't get any reply for days and thought I must have annoyed him with my overtly personal query. A month later, Ratan sir told me that my uncle was right about the diagnosis, and that he has started regular treatment for it.  

In another event, I shared about my father’s poor health condition, leading to the blocking of the nerves of his feet. He had developed blisters under his feet and was finding it hard to walk and even bathe as he could not keep the area dry with plastic bags. Ratan sir told me he also suffered from similar symptoms and had to surgically remove part of his toe finger. He used a waterproof cover from London and promptly offered to pick one for my father when he visited next. To my surprise, I received a message many months later, informing me that he is back from London and had brought the waterproof cover for my father. He asked me to collect it from the office reception whenever I was free. I was so touched by this act and the fact that he remembered something so mundane. My father was very comfortable and used the cover till he was operated upon. 

I last spoke to Ratan sir in July about special care for my uncle who was staying at the Taj hotel. Again, I thought he must have forgotten about it. But my uncle told me he suspected there was something with the extra smiles and salaams he received from the staff. 

Our next meeting was to take place sometime now. I was waiting for his call. But then I learned he was critical and admitted in the hospital. After he passed away, I went to the NCPA to pay my last respect. 

He did not meet many people and sometimes I felt he was lonely in such a big house with uniformed servants going around. After he retired, we had long calls; up to 10 minutes on the phone. Before that, even a two-minute talk was a luxury.  

In the last few years, as his health deteriorated, he spoke slowly, halting after every sentence. Now that he is no more, I will cherish our meetings, photos and WhatsApp messages. These are the memorabilia of my friendship with Ratan sir.