Those who haven’t seen Ratan Tata’s smile have missed out on something in life. He was an extremely gentle, warm, large-hearted person; a visionary who had great interest in using technology for the development of society. He had a beautiful disarming smile.
I first met him in 2014 when I approached him for philanthropic support for SEARCH. In our experience, donors usually try and cut down the budget but to my surprise, Tata was just the opposite, He had recently taken up full-time leadership of Tata Trusts then. I went with a Rs 20 crore proposal and instead of cutting it down, he kept urging me to add more equipment. The conversation was the opposite of what I had experienced with other donors. It was a novel experience where a donor was telling me to ask for more.
He had tremendous interest in technology and the belief that cutting edge technology could help in the development of society. He believed that tribals should also get the best healthcare. He kept asking me to get a digital x-ray machine. He had faith in the principle of justice and equality…that every person in society should get equally good healthcare.
He believed in leadership by trust. If he saw a good organisation, he supported it fully and backed it to the hilt. And then he gave them full autonomy, flexibility and support. He wanted to help people for the long term.
I joined Tata Trusts in 2015 and since then, I’ve had the privilege of interacting him during personal one-on-one meetings and group meetings. And I got the see the man he really was—a visionary who was large-hearted and warm.
In March 2016, he signed numerous MoUs with the Government of Maharashtra on water conservation, prison reforms, healthcare and so on. Since the budget session of the Maharashtra Assembly was ongoing, these MoUs were signed in the assembly itself. The then Chief Minister announced these MoUs and also stated that Tata was present in the visitors’ gallery.
The entire House, cutting across party lines, gave him a standing ovation. The House reverberated with the sounds of clapping. The admiration and respect he enjoyed across political parties was tremendous.
Tata’s love for animals is well-known. He set up a state-of-the-art animal hospital. Another incident I recall is when I had accompanied a minister for a meeting with Tata. We had gone to his office at Horniman Circle. The minister was talking excitedly and as his voice rose in excitement, Tata gently hushed him to speak softly. There was a mongrel sleeping in the same room. Tata was so concerned about disturbing the mongrel that he didn’t hesitate to even tell a cabinet minister to speak softy. But he was so gentle and almost innocent in his concern that it was extremely heart warming.
He loved technology! Thanks to him, I got the opportunity to meet and listen to one of the inventors of the genetic modification technology because he had invited him to Mumbai.
He took great interest in various issues; he was curious about everything. He contributed a lot of prison reforms, healthcare of Gadchiroli and the government’s malaria control programme. News of farmers committing suicide distressed him and he contributed towards their welfare.
He was a visionary industrialist and philanthropist. But above all, he was an extremely warm person. He loved both, humanity and the individual. There was never an occasion when he didn’t walk me to the door and open the door himself. If you left from his office, he’d wait until you got into the lift. He was a beautiful combination of yin and yang.
His smile was disarming and child-life. Those who haven’t seen his smile, have missed out on a lot in life.
(The writer is director of SEARCH in Gadchiroli.)
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