The sad news of Padma Vibhushan Ratan Tata’s passing has had the entire nation mourning. Navsari’s Parsi community organized an Uthamna ceremony and a homage meet at ‘Sirvai Party Plot’ (Parsi Boys Orphanage), which saw thousands of Ratan Tata’s admirers flowing into the venue continuously through the prayer and condolence meet.

Organised by the Samast Parsi Anjuman of Navsari, there was not one dry eye in the gathering which was attended by a majority of current and ex-Tata staff and their families, as also thousands of Ratan Tata’s fans coming to bid farewell. Senior Government officials like the Navsari Collector, District Education officers, Police officers, Senior Municipal officials and Gujarat’s local and state politicians including Finance Minister – Shri Kanubhai Desai were in attendance to pay homage.

It was a matter of pride for the residents and especially Parsis of Navsari, that leaders and heroes of India, like the father of Indian Industry and Tata Group founder – Dadabhai Naoroji; the 1st Baronet Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy, and many more from our micro-minority community of India have arisen from here.

Homage was also paid to the great Ratan Tata by the Parsi community all across India and even globally. In Jamshedpur, community members held an Uthamna ceremony at the Parsi Agiary, which was attended by Daisy Irani, wife of former Tata Steel MD, late J J Irani, who reminisced about her meetings with Ratan Tata. The Parsi community of Nagpur also organised an Uthamna, followed by a condolence meeting led by Navroze Daver, Secretary – Nagpur Parsi Punchayet, where he shared Tata’s connection with Nagpur since 1875 when the first Tata Project — The Empress Mill, was established by JN Tata, the great grandfather of late Ratan Tata.

Another prayer meeting was held at the Pak Kadmi Atashbehram in Surat by the Surat Parsi Panchayat and the Zoroastrian Women’s Assembly of Surat. The Ahmedabad Parsi community gathered at the Agiary to honor Ratan Tata’s legacy with prayers offered and lots of community members showing up to pay their respects to the late business icon. A prayer meeting was also held in Harrow, UK, where Lord Karan Bilimoria, patron of the Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe (ZTFE), led the meeting and shared his reflections on Tata, with whom worked since 2002.

Hyderabad’s Parsi community too came together to pay their respects, with Jehangir Bisney, Trustee – Parsi Zoroastrian Anjuman of Secunderabad and Hyderabad, best summing up the sentiments of the entire community, thus: “It’s rare to see the world mourn the demise of an industrialist and feel a sense of personal loss. Ratan Tata lived his life with humility and grace giving everything he had to make the world a better place. He was a ‘Ratan’ of the Parsi community, of India and truly of the world.”