Congress's Gurdeep Sappal recalls meeting Ratan Tata at his Colaba house

Ratan Tata died in Mumbai on Wednesday at the age of 86.

Ratan Tata died in Mumbai on Wednesday at the age of 86. The industrialist was recognized for his integrity, ethical leadership and commitment to philanthropy, which made him an iconic figure both in India and internationally. After his death, several people whose lives he influenced in large and small ways paid tribute to the industrialist. Among them was Congress MP Gurdeep Singh Sappal, who shared a poignant memory of his meeting with the business tycoon. On X (formerly Twitter), Mr. Sappal recounted a visit to Mr. Tata's home in Colaba, Mumbai.

In his post, Mr Sappal recalled that former veteran Congress leader Ahmed Patel had asked him to arrange a meeting with Mr Tata in 2015. “It has been decided that both will meet at Ratan Tata’s Colaba residence in Mumbai. Accordingly, Ahmed Patelji and I reached his house as scheduled, a house with seemingly middle-class furnishings!,” wrote Mr. Sappal.

Check out the following post:

Some memories stay forever. The memory of one such meeting with Ratan Tata is etched in my mind.

It was in 2015. Ahmed Patelji asked me to make an appointment with him. It has been decided that both will meet at Ratan Tata's Colaba residence in Mumbai.

Accordingly, Ahmed Patel ji said… pic.twitter.com/Pty2AUzukv

— Gurdeep Singh Sappal (@gurdeepsappal) October 9, 2024

Mr Sappal said he observed an initial awkwardness between the two men and revealed that they had never met in person before. He claimed he was surprised to see that the two men had never met before. “I was horrified when I found out it was their first ever face-to-face meeting! One was one of India's top corporations and the other was one of the most powerful people during the UPA years! And yet they had never met!” he wrote.

“That was unimaginable! But it explained the personalities of Ratan Tata and Ahmed Patel. Ratan Tata was not a supplicant of political power and Ahmed Patel never used his power to force the top corporations to meet him! That was the political decency. “My tribute to both of them, the two great Indians!” Mr. Sappal posted.

Also read | Silicon Valley exec remembers Ratan Tata, says he 'wouldn't be here without him'

Several other social media users also shared stories about their encounters with Ratan Tata in the hours after his death. A Silicon Valley executive gave a heartfelt tribute to the business tycoon, saying he “wouldn't be here” if it weren't for the billionaire. Arnav Sahu, Director at Y Combinator, told X that Ratan Tata's scholarship program enabled him to study in the US and build a career in the land of opportunity.

Notably, Mr. Sahu is one of the students who benefited from the Ratan Tata Scholarship Program, which helped him pursue higher education at Cornell University – an Ivy League college in New York.

Ratan Tata died yesterday evening at the age of 86 at Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai. His death marks the end of an era in Indian business, in which one man reshaped the country's industrial landscape and catapulted his family business into a global powerhouse.