A humble set of ethics and a possessed attention to detail, Ratan Tata has built a class. From bestowing almost two-and-a-half decades as Tata Group Chairman, the industrialist has already proved that he does not want to grip power and is keen on welcoming fresh blood into the group. He is the man who is loved and appreciated by millions of Indians. Ratan Tata turns 83 today.
Born to Naval Tata and Sonoo on December 28, 1937 in Surat, Ratan Tata graduated from the Riverdale Country School in New York City. He received a degree in architecture with structural engineering from Cornell University, USA. Later, he joined at the Harvard Business School and completed an Advanced Management Program in 1975.
He began his career with the Tata Steel division in 1962 and in 1971 he was appointed as the director-in-charge of the National Radio & Electronics Company Limited. JRD Tata in 1991 stepped down as Chairman of Tata Sons, naming him his successor. He prolonged the organisation and was active in conceptualisation and building cars such as Tata Indica and Tata Nano. A supporter of education, medicine and rural development, Padma Bhushan awardee is a leading philanthropist.
The man who is felicitated with the title of Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire has 65 per cent of his shares invested in charitable trusts.
On his 83rd birthday, here are top quotes by the philanthropist:
· Take the stones people throw at you. And use them to build a monument.
· Ups and downs in life are very important to keep us going, because a straight line even in an ECG means we are not alive.
· Don't be serious, enjoy life as it comes.
· None can destroy iron, but its own rust can. Likewise, none can destroy a person but his own mindset can.
· I may have hurt some people along the way, but I would like to be seen as somebody who has done his best to do the right thing for any situation and not compromised.
· People of great power wield great power, but people of lesser power or people who have fallen out of power go to jail without adequate evidence, or their bodies are found in the trunks of cars.
· If it stands the test of public scrutiny, do it... if it doesn't stand the test of public scrutiny then don't do it.
· I have been constantly telling people to encourage people to question the unquestioned and not to be ashamed to bring up new ideas, new processes to get things done.
· I don't believe in taking the right decisions, I take decisions and make them right.
· The day I am not able to fly will be a sad day for me.
