Sea Of Mourners Gather For Ratan Tata's Prayer Meet In Mumbai, Final Journey To Begin At 4 PM

Legendary industrialist Ratan Tata’s mortal remains, draped in the national flag, were on Thursday carried from his residence to the National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA) in south Mumbai, where a sea of corporate leaders, politicians and celebrities turned up to pay final respects to the former Tata Group chairman. Decked with white flowers, the hearse followed a police band performing the funeral procession music with trumpets and drums.

Ratan Tata had been in a Mumbai hospital since Monday, but the cause of his death was not immediately made public. He died at the age of 86 on Wednesday night. His mortal remains will be taken on the final journey at 4 pm today, news agency ANI quoted a statement from Tata Trust.

Videos on social media showed the portrait of a smiling Ratan Tata, amid grim faces, bidding him an emotional goodbye.

A video showed the moment when Ratan Tata’s mortal remains were being carried out of his residence in Mumbai, with drums and trumpets being played as a mark of respect to him.

Another video showed Ratan Tata’s mortal remains being taken to the NCPA Lawns.

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray, Mumbai Police Commissioner Vivek Phansalkar, Maharashtra Minister Uday Samant, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das were among others who arrived at the NCPA Lawns.

As the venue buzzed with political leaders, media persons, and a heavy police force, tributes for the visionary industrialist poured in from across the country, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi referring to him as “a visionary business leader, compassionate soul and an extraordinary human being”.

As more mourners gathered to pay their last respects, the Mumbai Police closed the Marine Drive road beyond the Oberoi Hotel and cordoned off the road leading to NCPA Lawns.

A video on Instagram, shared by Paparazzo Manav Manglani, showed Ratan Tata’s mortal remains being carefully carried out of the hearse at the NCPA Lawns.

A Bollywood online network also paid tribute to Tata, through a post on social media.

PREPARATIONS AT WORLI CREMATORIUM

At 4 pm today, Ratan Tata’s mortal remains will be brought to the Parsi cemetery in Worli, where his funeral will be conducted with full state honours.

First, Tata’s mortal remains will be placed in the prayer hall, housing 200 people, for nearly 45 minutes.

After the prayers, the mortal remains will be placed in the electric crematorium for the final rites.

A video showed massive security outside the Worli crematorium, ahead of Tata’s last rites.

RATAN TATA’s RISE TO SUCCESS

Ratan Tata rose to global prominence with a series of high-profile international deals. In 2008, he famously oversaw Tata Motors’ purchase of British car brands Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford (F).

Born in 1937 to a family of Parsis, an ethno-religious group of Persian descent in India who follow the Zoroastrian religion, Tata graduated from Cornell University where he studied architecture and structural engineering.

He returned to India in 1962 and joined the family firm, which was founded by his great-grandfather in 1868. From those humble beginnings, Tata has been responsible for India’s first steel plant, its first luxury hotel and its first domestic airline.

Tata took over as chairman in 1991, the same year India unleashed major economic reforms, including devaluing the rupee, to open its economy to the world. And as India looked increasingly outward, so did Tata.

In 2000, the group acquired British firm Tetley, owner of one of the largest global tea brands, for $432 million. Seven years later, Tata Steel prevailed in a $12.1 billion battle for control of Corus, a British steel company.

Tata retired as group chairman in 2012 and was chairman emeritus of the holding company Tata Sons before his death. Since stepping down from day-to-day duties, the businessman had been throwing himself into improving the lot of India’s many stray animals.