Up close and personal with Ratan Tata

New Delhi: It was sometime in early August 1998 when I first met Ratan Tata in Mumbai. He was with a host of other businessmen at an event and I went up to him and introduced myself.

Tata smiled and shook hands but it was quite clear that he was not comfortable talking to a journalist. I requested him to give me time whenever he was free and he shared the number of his office at Bombay House, the corporate headquarters of the Tatas. I was asked to speak to a particular person and then take it forward from there.

I was quite certain that this would lead to nothing but called up the number the following day only to be told that Tata was not available. I left my contact details — one of the few direct lines in our newsroom as there were no cellphones then — and later wondered why I had even bothered to do so. There was no way on earth the Tata Group Chairman was going to call me.

Later the same evening, the phone rang and a colleague answered it. It was nearing deadline hour and as she impatiently asked who it was at the other end, I could see her beckoning to me furiously. “It is Ratan Tata for you,” she virtually gasped. As I nervously said hello, there was no mistaking the calm tone of the man who was the tallest leader of India Inc.

Breaking the ice

“Hi Murali, this is Ratan Tata. Why don't we meet on August 20 at Bombay House? Would 1 pm work for you?” I was literally jumping for joy but just managed to say, “Yes, Mr Tata, that would be absolutely fine. Thank you so much…really looking forward to this.” He said goodbye and I continued to stare at the phone for eternity! To think I had just spoken to Ratan Tata!

Came the day and the hour as my Editor and I walked across to Bombay House and were ushered into his room. He was the epitome of dignity as he greeted us. It was clearly understood that this was an off-the-record conversation and he spoke about cars and why it was important for the company to be part of this business.

There were other topics of discussion and I was particularly fascinated by the fact that here was a fellow southpaw! Being at the receiving end of ridicule for being a left hander in my early years, it was reassuring to see that the Tata Group Chairman was one too!

I ran into Ratan Tata on a few occasions thereafter and appraised him on my shift in jobs in the journalistic space. Imagine how delighted I was to get letters from him, with that inimitable signature scrawled at the bottom, wishing me the best in each of these assignments.

The next meeting

It was in end-2005 when the Tata INR 1-lakh car was making news and I reached out to his office once again seeking an interview for the magazine I was editing then. The idea was to have a cover story come out around the time of the 2006 Delhi Auto Expo in January. When the call came through confirming his availability for the interview, I was once again on cloud nine!

The venue this time was the Santa Cruz airport lounge for private aircraft and I later learnt that Ratan Tata had given time in the midst of his holiday break. My photographer and I were well before the scheduled hour along with a senior representative of the agency handling the Tata account. We later learnt that Ratan Tata had piloted the aircraft himself and as he came into the lounge, there was once again this sense of nervous excitement and butterflies fluttering in the stomach.

Now, this may seem odd and even childish for a business journalist who constantly meets a lot of people but the difference with Ratan Tata was his aura. Even my photographer was a trite anxious while the Chairman patiently posed for pictures before the interview began. I was, meanwhile, checking out a million times to see if my tape recorder was working — there was just no way we could afford a glitch.

As Tata sat down in the room assigned for the interview, he first asked his driver to have his lunch. He then thanked the stewards who served us sandwiches and reminded them to eat on time too. He told me that he had a dental appointment later that afternoon and we could talk comfortably till then. I remember this was all happening in early January.

Simplicity and humility

And boy was it the interview of a lifetime! Tata spoke about his dream for the INR 1 lakh car and why it was so important to give affordable and safe mobility to the masses. He also dwelt upon a host of other issues including the marketing alliance with Fiat which was to be officially announced at the Auto Expo.

The interview lasted a couple of hours and as Tata bade us goodbye, the entire team was truly in a state of disbelief. A lot of it had to do with the way he carried his power and stature so comfortably while going out of the way to ensure that the people around did not feel stifled as a result. On that day, I saw a man who exemplified humility and empathy without a fuss — it was a huge lesson imparted in the process.

It also reminded me of a famous line from a Hindi film, Bawarchi, released way back in 1972 where the lead actor has this message for quarelling members of a household: “It is so simple to be happy but so difficult to be simple.” Ratan Tata’s simplicity on that day, likewise, was the biggest takeaway for me.

Fiat CEO’s own memories

Some months later, I met Sergio Marchionne, the CEO of Fiat, and asked him what it was like to have an alliance with the Tata group. “One of the great things that I found about Tatas is the vision and commitment they have to nation building in India which somehow the rest of the world has forgotten,” he said.

This, according to the Fiat CEO, was an important issue for all industrial players across the world and “the ability to combine that commitment as part of a vision with the desire to be a strong and recognised global player is a very interesting act”.

As Marchionne added, “What I found in Ratan Tata is the wisdom to try and manage both objectives with the elegance and smoothness that only comes about with a result of acquired statesmanship. It is a pleasure for me to work with him because we have never had a disagreement. Sure, we have had differences of view which have been quickly reconciled but never a fundamental disagreement.”

Friends first, businessmen second

He went on to say, “There are times I discuss the weirdest things with Ratan but that is the way we are; we are friends first and businessmen second. I have a lot of respect for him and do see his group being one of the pillars of international expansion of Fiat by helping us here. Relationships of that calibre require time to mature. We don’t rush into them and I expect a lot more from the Tatas in the future where we could even look at options beyond cars.”

Even though nothing much came out of this partnership, it was clear that Ratan Tata was held in high esteem by his global counterparts in the automobile industry. Marchionne, incidentally, passed away in 2018 at just 66 and he and others like Carlos Ghosn, the former CEO of Renault-Nissan, had a lot of respect for Ratan Tata.

With his passing, it also marks the end of an era of unique leaders who were part of the old school in chivalry and grace. The last three years have seen the departure of three big names in the auto arena. First, it was Rahul Bajaj in February 2022, followed by Keshub Mahindra the following year in April and now Ratan Tata in October 2024. Tall leaders who were the personification of class, power and honesty. They were truly in a league of their own.