Remembering Ratan

In April 1997, Ratan Tata, then chairman of the Tata Group, visited Tata Tea Limited’s extensive operations in Munnar for the first time. As an executive of the company, I was actively involved in coordinating and overseeing the various arrangements for his visit.

He flew from Kochi to Munnar in a company helicopter, landing at a local helipad where a group of us, officials, were waiting to receive him. It was our first time meeting, and understandably, we were quite tense. After the garlanding and formal introductions, a senior executive attempted small talk. “Sir, I thought I was taller than you,” he remarked flippantly, quickly adding, “Now I know I am not.” Grinning amiably and drawing himself up to his full stature, Ratan quipped, “Seeing is believing.” The ice was broken, and laughter erupted all around.

Ratan spent the next two days visiting all TTL’s operations, especially its welfare-oriented activities for the physically and mentally challenged children of its employees—an initiative close to his heart. The children touched him deeply, and upon returning to Mumbai, he substantially increased the Tata Group’s funding for local welfare institutions tasked with their rehabilitation. He ensured they were provided with committed teachers, buses, and the necessary infrastructure to help them learn trades and financially become financially independent. Thanks to the Tata Group's continued support, these institutions have thrived over the years. Ratan’s empathetic remarks in their visitor’s book—both in 1997 and during a subsequent visit in 2009—bear eloquent testimony to his compassionate nature.

Touring TTL’s tea gardens and factories as well as its Instant Tea Division, he evinced keen interest in their functioning, sometimes raising penetrating queries that belied his basic knowledge of tea cultivation and production. He endeared himself to the workers by visiting one of their homes and interacting with the occupants through a translator. He also visited the prestigious Tata-run High Range School in Munnar, where he motivated the students and staff with a pep talk. 

In October 2009, Ratan visited Munnar once again to review the status of the tea industry. During his two-day stay, he hosted a well-attended dinner for Tata Tea’s retired executives and spouses. Ageing, he seemed to have lost some of his earlier vigour and activeness, but very graciously agreed to pose for individual photos with all who requested him. I still prize the snapshot taken with him then.

Ratan stayed at the picturesque Tata guest house in Munnar, then under my charge. Endowed with a powerful personality, he was nevertheless a soft-spoken man of few words who kept very much to himself, socialising only when necessary. For a man of his social standing, he had absolutely no airs about him.

I still remember his hearty handshake before boarding the helicopter on his return, a charming smile creasing his florid face. In retrospect, he was truly a titan in every sense of the word.