India’s financial capital on Thursday bid an emotional farewell to Ratan Tata, one of her most illustrious sons who defined both her enterprise and humility as thousands, from ordinary citizens to luminaries, paid tributes to him before his last journey.
The final rites of the industry titan-philanthropist were performed with full state honours at a crematorium in Worli in the evening after Mumbai police personnel accorded him a gun salute, a day after he died at a city hospital, marking end of an era.
Thousands lined the streets to bid goodbye to one of their own, an unassuming Mumbai-born and bred `chhotu’ who transformed the Tata brand into a global powerhouse.
And the country’s most powerful politicians were joined by its most influential celebrities – actors and sportspersons – and the country’s richest, including the Ambanis and the Adanis, in paying their respects.
Maharashtra has announced a day of mourning as a mark of respect for a business leader and philanthropist admired in India and abroad for his simplicity, sincerity, and humanity.
The last rites were performed as per the Parsi tradition, one of the priests present at the crematorium said. After the funeral, there will be three more days of rituals which will be conducted at the late business tycoon’s bungalow in Colaba, south Mumbai.
Parsis do not cremate or bury their loved ones, unlike Hindus and Muslims, and they consider a human body as a gift of nature, which has to be returned. According to Zoroastrian beliefs, cremation or burying would contaminate the elements of nature – water, air and fire.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, his deputy Devendra Fadnavis, Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel and Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal were present at the crematorium in central Mumbai.
Earlier, Tata’s mortal remains, wrapped in the national flag, lay in state at the National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA) in south Mumbai. Later, they were taken to the crematorium where Tata was given a ceremonial guard of honour by the Mumbai Police.
