Numb & teary-eyed Pimpri plant staff carry on working in true tribute to Tata

Pune: The mood turned sombre at Tata Motors' Pimpri unit as soon as news of Ratan Tata's passing away reached the employees late on Wednesday night. Workers, many numb and teary-eyed, continued their jobs in a true tribute to the business giant, who always said "work should not stop even after my death as it halts the country's growth".
Santosh Babar, who works in the quality department of the firm's plant in Pimpri, said on Thursday, "News of his demise reached us around 11.45pm on Wednesday.Almost everyone went numb, some started crying. The feeling was akin to losing one's support system that Tata had become for us over the years. In spite of the irrevocable loss, everyone continued to work, barring a 15-minute break to pay tribute to sir (Tata),"
Over 1,000 employees at the plant left for Mumbai soon after their night shift ended at 6am to attend the last rites.
Kiran Patil, who works in the gearbox and transmission department at Tata Motors, said they felt orphaned after Tata's demise. "Even during the Covid-19 pandemic, Tata ensured that the firm paid salaries to the ground staff. He also made sure that they were provided medical help," Patil said.
On Dec 28, 2012, when Tata had retired as the chairman of the Tata Group on his birthday, he spent the entire day with the employees in Pune. Vishnu Newale, the former president of the Tata Motors Employees' Union, told TOI, "We requested him to spend his birthday with us that year. We were all surprised to see that he not only accepted our request, but also spent the entire day with us. He even ate food with us in the canteen."
The kind of care Tata took of his employees was also visible in an incident from the late 90s. "In a meeting of all the general managers at Tata Sons office, Ratan Ji asked everyone about their salary. When he was informed about the salaries, he said ‘if we pay peanuts, we will get monkeys'. He gave all of them a raise with immediate effect," said Deepa Vijay, whose father, AR Jagannathan, worked as the general manager (finance) at Tata Motors for around three decades and attended the very meeting.
Suresh Dhivar, who worked with the firm in Pimpri for over 30 years, said, "Whenever he (Tata) visited Pune, he ensured that he met the employees before his return. He had that kind of attachment with all of us."
An employee who worked in the design department and was part of Tata Nano project, said, "He was very excited about the Nano project. It was after the launch of this car that his visits to the Pune plant increased."
Many employees recalled what made Tata a ‘fantastic' boss to work with. "You may have read that he was a very humble and approachable person. But, we at Tata Motors, experienced it. He would often come to Pune and visit the shop floor. He would meet the mechanics, the engineers and everyone on the production line," a former employee said.
"Whenever a worker's child made it big on the merit list at school, I remember the heads of the Tata plant visiting homes with bouquets to celebrate the achievement. It was a big gesture, one greatly appreciated by the employees," the former employee said.
(With inputs from
Govind Vijaykumar)