From sports to classical music and jazz, from aviation to architecture, and an abiding love for animals, the wide-ranging interests of Mr. Ratan N. Tata and his support for the same, speak of a man of compassion and fine taste.
Ratan Tata with JRD Tata at the annual general meeting of the Tata Group | Photo: Mukesh Parpiani
"The passing of Mr. Ratan Tata is a serious loss. He guided the Tata Group to exceptional heights after he took over from Mr. JRD Tata and he achieved this while honouring the values upheld by the Tatas. A unique ambassador of ethical growth, he was a fine human being with deep compassion for the underprivileged for whom he created great institutions. He cared for animals with unparalleled devotion. His range of interests and tastes was wide, from aviation to modern management systems and from classical music to jazz. Unfortunately, his busy schedule kept him from indulging his love for music as much as he would have liked to. His great quality was his simplicity and lack of self-importance in spite of his position, a rare quality today. He will be greatly missed." – Mr. Khushroo N. Suntook, Chairman, NCPA
Ratan Tata, who was on the NCPA Council from 1973 to 1991, at the inauguration of the Tata Theatre in 1980. Seen in the front row (left to right) are Cyril Harris, Betty Irene Bhabha, American Ambassador Robert Goheen, Elizabeth John Thomson, Ratan Tata and Maneka Gandhi.Khushroo N. Suntook addresses the gathering at the diamond jubilee celebrations of the Tata Sports Club, a haven for individual and team talent in sports from across the country. (Seated from left) Former first-class cricketer Milind Rege, former captain of the Indian cricket team Sunil Gavaskar, Ratan Tata and President of the Cricket Club of India Raj Singh Dungarpur. Photo courtesy Tata Archives.Ratan Tata and Khushroo N. Suntook at the diamond jubilee celebrations of the Tata Sports Club. Photo courtesy Tata Archives.Seeing Zubin Mehta off at the airport after his concerts in Mumbai was a ritual with Ratan Tata. He was also fond of jazz but could not attend as many concerts as he would have liked to due to his busy schedule. Seen here (from left, standing): Hadi Kizilbash, two uncles of Zubin Mehta, Farida Hamied, (at the back) Khushroo N. Suntook, Yusuf Hamied, Sardaro Khan, Zubin Mehta, Mehdi Kizilbash, Yvonne Kizilbash, (standing at the rear) Ratan Tata, Goody Seervai, a member of the Taj staff, and (seated, left and centre) Muku Hamied and Lila Suntook at the Santacruz airport to see Zubin Mehta off after he conducted the Los Angeles Philharmonic on Diwali in Mumbai in 1967.Ratan Tata inside new aircraft of Air India in the late 1980s. Photo by Mukesh Parpiani.Ratan Tata meets Margaret Thatcher, then Prime Minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, during her visit to India in 1981. On this important occasion at the NCPA, the Kerala Kalamandalam presented an episode from the Mahabharata in the Kathakali style and Sonal Mansingh gave an Odissi dance recital.At Dr. Jamshed Bhabha’s condolence meeting at the NCPA in June 2007: (From left) Khushroo N. Suntook, Dr. Vijaya Mehta, Ratan Tata and Ashok Chavan.Ratan Tata writes his memories of Dr. Bhabha at the latter’s condolence meeting.Staff members of the NCPA pay their last respects to Ratan Tata at the lawns of the National Centre for the Performing Arts, where political leaders, industrialists, artistes, actors, prominent figures from the world of finance and other sectors, employees of the Tata Group and thousands of members of the public gathered to bid adieu to the revered and beloved Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons. Silence was observed by employees of the NCPA in his memory.Noel Tata and Khushroo N. Suntook pay their last respects to Ratan Tata.
