There were four "great loves" in Ratan Tata's life but he never married any of them; two were American, one Parsi and one a strikingly beautiful Gujarati who "walked away from him": Thomas Mathew, author 'Ratan Tata: A Life'
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Ratan Tata, the former Chairman of Tata Sons, who lived and died a bachelor, had four “great loves” in his life but never married any of them. This is revealed by his biographer, Thomas Mathew, whose book ‘Ratan Tata: A Life’ was published just weeks after Ratan Tata’s death. Mr. Mathew worked closely with Ratan Tata while writing the book but it’s not an authorized biography.
In a 45-minute interview to Karan Thapar for The Wire, which reveals in detail Ratan Tata’s personality, his private life, the things that mattered to him, his relationship with his dogs, Tito and Tango, and his care for his staff, in particular, his cook, Rajen, Mr. Mathew also speaks about the four “great loves” in Tata’s life. Two of these were American women, one Parsi and the fourth a Gujarati. Mr. Mathew said the Gujarati girl was half his age and strikingly beautiful. However, as Mr. Mathew puts it, “she walked away from him”, returning to an older boyfriend. Mr. Mathew seemed to suggest she’s still alive and lives in “Mumbai or somewhere”.
Rata Tata’s first love was Carolyn Emmons, the daughter of his first boss in America. Although they never married he did, in later years, revive his relationship with her. She attended his 80th birthday in 2017 and visited him frequently, the last time being 2021. As Mr. Mathew puts it: “Ratan takes Carolyn out for dinner almost every time he is in the US”.
The interview also focusses on Ratan Tata’s affection and love for his dogs. It seems, more often than not, he would name them Tito and Tango. He had, at least, three separate sets of dogs with the same name. When one of the Tangos broke his leg in 2008 Ratan Tata: “scanned the world for a vet who could save the limb” and eventually flew Tango to Minnesota.
Ratan Tata took particular care of his staff. Of Rajen, his cook, Mr. Mathew says Ratan Tata took great care of “Rajen’s every need, or rather, pampered him”. For instance, when Rajen wanted to learn fishing, Mr. Tata spent hours finding a suitable fishing rod for him. Mr. Mathew says Ratan Tata often had his meals with Rajen’s daughter and shared the same food as her.
There are many other personal aspects of Ratan Tata’s life, which are not known, which this interview reveals. For instance, his relationship with his grandmother, Lady Tata, the impact of his parent’s divorce on him and his brother Jimmy (Tata was not even 10 at the time), his love for America and how he would have settled there if his grandmother had not summoned him back to India, his fondness for check-shirts and his passion for large American cars and the four houses he designed, including the one in Mumbai where he lived called Halekai.
Ratan Tata loved playing pranks and would make mischief with the shoes of elderly Directors at board meetings.
If you are interested in knowing more about Ratan Tata and, in particular, his personality, his childhood, his private life, his passions and hobbies, you will find a lot in this interview that will be of great interest. It reveals Ratan Tata the person (as opposed to the industrialist) in a way that so far is unknown to most people.
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