A marriage torn by war, a legacy built with Tata: The extraordinary life of an Indian business tycoon

Ratan was just ten years old when his parents divorced and went their separate ways. Confused and lost, he stood at a crossroads, unsure of what lay ahead. But, waiting just a call away, his grandmother, Navajbhai, was ready to embrace him with open arms. She told him, “Stand tall, hold your head high, and turn a deaf ear to those who mock you. Never treat anyone harshly or with aggression.”

To Ratan, his grandmother was the true gem of his life. He followed every path she showed him, walking and even running toward the future she envisioned for him. He pursued higher education in the US. Leaving behind the comforts of his ultra-luxurious life in India, he toiled tirelessly in Los Angeles, taking on different jobs. During this time, he fell in love with a girl he met there.

Ratan was keen to continue in the US, but India called him back. His country, through the voice of his ailing grandmother, beckoned him home. Torn between staying and returning to India, the thought weighed heavily on him. In the end, he chose to return to his grandmother and his beloved motherland. His lover had decided to join him later, but that moment never came.

The outbreak of the India-China war in 1962 turned Ratan's marriage plans upside down. He came back to India from the US and the couple had agreed to settle in the country after their wedding. However, when the US media flooded with reports of the war, his fiancée became convinced that India was engulfed in a conflict for the long run with no end in sight. She grew hesitant, reiterating that she was unwilling to move to India. For Ratan, returning to the US was no longer an option. The couple eventually parted ways. “She married someone there. I never married again,” Ratan Tata once revealed in an interview.

The pain of lost love lingered with Ratan Tata throughout his life. He once remarked, “even while sitting at the helm of the richest companies in India, I have no wife and no children to pass my legacy to. I’ve felt that loneliness on many occasions.” Known for his candidness, Tata never hesitated to speak his mind.

As a hot young blood, Ratan poured his passion into a different kind of love — his traditional business empire, Tata. His love affairs extended to the tens of thousands of employees who worked under him and to his revolutionary ideas, like the Nano - the world's cheapest car designed for ordinary Indians and the push for electric vehicles.

Now, as Ratan Tata prepares to leave this world, he leaves behind a legacy that stretches across India and beyond—present in every corner of the country and on all six continents. While Tata bids his final farewell, his empire remains etched everywhere; in the walls and rust of industrial units, in salt and iron and in the cars and trucks that traverse the country’s roads...!

Ratan spent his childhood with his grandmother in a grand bungalow in the heart of old Bombay. A portion of this grand house later became the iconic Sterling Cinemas and the headquarters of Deutsche Bank. As a child, he commuted to school in a Rolls Royce, and he had at least 50 servants at his call and beck at any given time. Yet, despite growing up surrounded by ultra-luxury, Ratan never lost his sense of simplicity and let opulence blind his eyes. Till taking over as chairman of Tata Sons, he chose to live in a modest apartment at Bakhtavar in Colaba —a home filled only with books and cassettes.

When asked how a boy who grew up in immense wealth could turn away from luxury, Ratan Tata often pointed to the ten years he spent in the U.S. To make ends meet, he took on any menial job he could find—even washing dishes. During those times, he said, he would forget that he came from a wealthy family.

Vacation at Tatapuram
For Ratan Tata, Kochi was more than just a place—it represented a cherished chapter of his life. As a student, he used to spend his vacations at Tatapuram in Kochi. Even decades later, he fondly remembered those days as some of the most beautiful of his life, the days he could never forget. His father, Naval Tata, was the chairman of Tata Oil Mills Company (TOMCO) at the time, which is how Ratan and his brother would board a flight from Mumbai to Kochi with their father for their vacations.

Ratan also spent many days in Munnar, and the natural beauty of the hill station never failed to excite him. During a visit to Munnar in 1997, he remarked, “Mindless development is dangerous. Nothing that leads to the loss of nature’s beauty should be pursued.”

From piano to scuba
Upon retiring as chairman of Tata Sons at the age of 75, Ratan Tata said, “I would like to learn to play the piano now. I started learning it when I was nine but had to stop abruptly.” He also spoke about his desire to spend his remaining years as an architect and even designed a couple of houses himself. He enjoyed scuba diving until doctors advised him to stop due to ear issues. Listening to music and reading were part of his daily routine, and he also had a craze for high-speed cars and aeroplanes.

The only regret
Did Ratan Tata have any regrets about his life? He never considered his decision not to marry as a mistake. While several decisions he made regarding the Tata companies later proved to be missteps, he viewed these as natural occurrences and felt no need to dwell on them. This perspective extended beyond himself, and he maintained a similar stance toward others.

However, he did have one regret in his life, and that was related to JRD Tata. Ratan once reflected, “in the last six years of his life, we were very close. But we should have been much closer earlier, and I regret that it did not happen. Perhaps this is the biggest regret that I carry with me.”