The last rites of the renowned industrialist and philanthropist Ratan Tata were performed with full state honours in Mumbai today. Ratan Tata, who is credited with transforming the Tata Group into a globally renowned conglomerate, breathed his last yesterday at the age of 86, at a hospital in Mumbai. The Maharashtra cabinet today passed a proposal to request the Union government to award the Bharat Ratna to Ratan Tata. The cabinet also paid tribute to Ratan Tata.
The crowd lined up, waiting tirelessly, some for close to 40 minutes, in the hopes of seeing the Padma Vibhushan awardee one last time. Two parallel serpentine queues—one for Tata employees and the other for the rest—stretched nearly a half kilometre from the Murli Deora Chowk to the open-air plaza at the heart of NCPA, where Tata’s mortal remains were lying in state.
Staff from over a dozen Tata entities including Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Communications, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Tata Digital, Tata Trusts, and even Air India, had lined up. Employees from the Taj Group of Hotels, dressed in their uniforms, were helping manage the queues and offering water and refreshments.
