M Abdul Rehman, a 68-year-old shop keeper in Kerala’s Perumbavoor is one of the billions of Indians who are in mourning. Though he has not personally met Ratan Tata, the trailblazer of India Inc, who breathed his last late Wednesday night, Rehman prayed throughout the day for Ratan Tata.
Rehman was an employee of Tata Oil Company in Ernakulam and remembers each day of his life in the company. “What made TOMCO, who was owned and managed by Tata Group during my tenure, was their attitude and approach to the employees. Workers who were not in the best of health were asked to spend their time in the company’s Club House where all they need to do was to sit, chit chat and consume the best tea we had tasted, “ reminiscences Rehman.
The Ernakulam TOMCO manufactured brand soaps like Hamam, Jai and Moti besides a popular washing soap under the 501 brand name. “The company also made Tata Hair Oil and shampoos that were unique in all respect. The manufacturing process and packing were of global standards. The hair oil and shampoo were trendsetters,” said Rehman,
When the company found the going tough and lost its market share to its competitor, Tatas sold it out to their nearest rivals and this marked the end of the Group’s odyssey with soap manufacturing.
Though Hamam brand is still there in the market, Jai, Moti, hair oils and shampoos are dead and gone. “There was an elegance attached to all the brands which hit the market under the Tata logo,” said Rehman, who was given the pink slip once the company changed hands. Though the name Tata Oil Mills too is gone, the locality where the company stands is still known by the name Tatapuram. There are many writers, actors and musicians who have the prefix Tatapuram attached to their names. Ever heard of Tatapuram Sukumaran who survived as a short story writer only because of the Tata tag?
There are many charity organizations in Kerala fully funded by the Tata Group. Ratan Tata took special care in ensuring that these establishments (ranging from schools and hostels for children suffering from autism to hospitals) never faced any shortage of funds. The “Ratan” of Corporate last visited Kerala in 2009 when he stayed in Munnar where the Tatas have one of the largest tea estates in south India. Anil Kumar, the chauffeur who drove around Ratan Tata in Munnar and Devikulam had told this reporter that he saw simplicity and humility personified while he was driving Ratan Tata around.
What Parsi Khabar (the news letter brought out by the Zoroastrian community said in its obituary to the prince of Indian business sums up what Ratan Tata has done to the world. “He is survived by his extended family at the Tata Group and the countless lives he touched, mentored, and inspired. His memory will continue to be a beacon of hope, reminding us that the greatest legacies are built not with bricks and mortar, but with love, generosity, and a deep sense of responsibility toward others. He is on his journey to Garothman Behest (the highest paradise in Zoroastrian belief) after 86 years of life full of Humata, Hukhta and Hvarshta (good thoughts, good words and good deeds), the one and only ideology of the Parsi community immortalized by the likes if Ratan Tata, JRD and Jamshedji Tata.
