Ratan Tata shares a “nostalgic” post for mentor JRD Tata on his birth anniversary

With the two photographs, Ratan Tata gave his followers a glimpse into JRD Tata’s love for aviation.

Ratan Tata, the chairman emeritus of Tata Group, shared a nostalgic post on Wednesday on the 116th birth anniversary of JRD Tata. Sharing two throwback photos and remembering the man he considers his role model and mentor, Ratan Tata wrote: “A little nostalgic on JRD’s 116th birth anniversary. Mr JRD Tata and I shared a deep passion and interest in aviation, the 82-year-old wrote on photo-sharing app Instagram. Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata, who was born on July 29, 1904, is the recipient of two of India’s highest civilian awards — the Padma Vibhushan and the Bharat Ratna. JRD Tata is not only remembered as a great industrialist but also as a keen aviator.

JRD Tata joined the family business as an apprentice and became the chairman of Tata & Sons at the age of 34. He also led the group to diversify and oversaw that Tata Group becomes one of the most trusted brands in India. It was under his leadership that Tata Group diversified into aviation after he formed an aviation department called Tata Airlines which later became Air India. In fact, JRD Tata is widely considered to be the Father of Indian Aviation for his pioneering role in civil aviation. 

With the two photographs, Ratan Tata gave his followers a glimpse into JRD Tata’s love for aviation. “These photos bring back pleasant memories of visits that I arranged for Jeh to visit manufacturing facilities for the B1B bomber and the space shuttle. We were privileged to be invited to tour the manufacturing facilities, an opportunity not many have. It was worth it to see the spark in his eyes,” he wrote. In November as well, Ratan Tata had shared a tribute to JRD Tata on his death anniversary. Ratan Tata had joined Instagram last year and regularly shares nostalgic pictures from his past, along with photos of animals.