Anand Tilak’s Post

With the demise of Mr. Ratan Tata, it marks the end of an era for one of the most respected, admired, and dignified businessmen in India. As Mr. Mukesh Ambani said, “Mr. Tata took India to the world and brought the best of the world to Bharat.” From being humiliated by Mr. Bill Ford to taking over two iconic luxury brands like Jaguar and Land Rover was poetic justice. You can't call it revenge, but it helped Mr. Tata stay focused instead of wasting his energy and resources on retaliation. He truly transformed the Tata Group when he was at the helm for over 20 years. Two great things happened in the early '90s in India: the best Finance Minister to date, Mr. Manmohan Singh, in the government, and Mr. Ratan Tata at the helm of Tata Sons. It was a defining decade for India. Both were in dramatically different situations—Mr. Manmohan Singh in a tough spot and Mr. Tata was on solid ground, in a consolidation mood. Mr. Manmohan Singh must have felt like Kapil Dev at Tunbridge Wells against Zimbabwe in the ’83 World Cup, walking in at 17 for 5. Mr. Tata would have felt like Mohammad Kaif in the final of the NatWest series—building on a strong foundation but in a challenging situation. Everybody talks about company culture. People outside India may find it hard to understand the culture due to the ethnicity of the founder. It's not politically correct in today’s world. However, there is certainly a strong Parsi culture in the Tata Group, and I hope it is maintained. People in my generation in India would remember classified ads in newspapers for used cars and apartments. Listings that mentioned "Parsi owner" were sought after and commanded a premium. Financial advertising was quite prominent a few decades ago, with a large part of it being what was called Ads for Fixed Deposits. Tatas and Parsi companies didn’t have any difficulty in this regard. “The name is the guarantee” was a tagline used by another business, but the Tatas didn’t need that— their name was the guarantee. What was supposedly a family-owned business had a lot of integrity—much more than many large multinationals. They didn’t need a purpose for their brands, as each of their brands not only promised but also delivered true value to people. And not just to people. According to a story narrated by Shobha De, Mr. Tata was being honoured by the Queen at Buckingham Palace for his exceptional work in philanthropy. He couldn’t attend the award function because Tito, one of his dogs, wasn't well! We have all read stories about those who were martyred at the Taj during the terror attack, as well as at Leopold and VT station. If J.R.D. Tata was referred to as the doyen of Indian industry, Ratan Tata should be referred to as a titan. “Tata does not mean goodbye,” read a billboard after the Tatas acquired a controlling stake again. But today, we must say goodbye, Mr. Tata. You will always be the Ratan in India’s crown. #tata #tatagroup #tatasons

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