Tatanagar, The City That Is A Testament To Ratan Tata바카라�s Vision

March 3 is Founder바카라�s Day in Jamshedpur and Ratan Tata never missed the occasion. The citizens of the city say that the 86-year-old industrialists would attend, ignore his security guards who would advise him to maintain his distance, and personally greet everyone at the festivities. 바카라�If you couldn바카라�t meet him on March 3, then he would make sure to give you time on March 4바카라� it didn바카라�t matter if you were the Chairman of Tata Steel, or a housewife, or a child,바카라� they recall. 

The news of Tata바카라�s demise late night on October 9 has caused the city to stop in the middle of its Pujo festivities to commiserate the passing of a man they call, 바카라�The People바카라�s Industrialist.바카라� 

바카라�When he visited Jamshedpur, he would visit every corner of the city to make sure it was all up to the mark,바카라� says Ashok Tomar, who worked as former Tata Steel Chairperson Rustomji Homusji Mody바카라�s personal assistant for 15 years, and has known Tata since the latter started working in his family바카라�s steel plant as a General Trainee in the early 1960s. 

Tomar remembers Tata as being shy and a 바카라�man who measured his words.바카라� He adds, 바카라�He could speak very eloquently if given a topic. But he was not one to offer unsolicited views.바카라� However, he stresses that this did not stop the industrialist from making time for his employee바카라� 바카라�be it a chairman or a chaprasi.바카라� 

Tata was interested in all aspects of Jamshedpur. Tomar remembers a Founder바카라�s Day when JRD Tata, Ratan Tata and Rustomji Mody were present for the function. 바카라�That was when he (Ratan Tata) started his career from Tata Steel Jamshedpur, he tried to understand the system, he even wanted to know about the canteen services, medical services, every nook and cranny interested him,바카라� said Tomar.

Jamshedpur is also called Tatanagar by its residents and Steel City around the world, was founded in 1912 by Jamshedji Tata. The city, now the largest in Jharkhand, was the site of Asia's first steel plant, and considered the home of the Tata Group. 

It was under Ratan Tata's leadership that Jamshedpur really transformed. After he became chairman of Tata Steel in 1993, the industrialist continued the legacy of Jamsetji Tata, the group's founder, and expanded the family business. This brought international recognition to Jamshedpur. The city was one of India's first planned industrial towns.

Prabhat Sharma, who headed Corporate Communications at Tata Steel Jamshedpur, Kalinganagar, and more for over 30-35 years, recalls Tata바카라�s 바카라�respect for human values.바카라� He says, 바카라�you felt respected in the company; how Big Boss (Ratan Tata) would never ever treat anyone like they were some junior. Even after post-retirement, I can still get facetime with seniors in the company, and this respect comes from Tata and carries through generations.바카라�

Sharma, who settled in Jamshedpur after he retired, recalls that a Tata Steel meeting in the city in which he spent days with the industrialist. 바카라�There was Mr Manjrekar who had worked with Mr Tata when he had been a trainee at the plant, and he saw his man across the room and got up from his chair and went over to him to receive Manjrekar.바카라� This display of humility, says Sharma, is part of Jamshedpur바카라�s core values. 

Tata's commitment to Jamshedpur went beyond profit, says Tomar. "Ratan Tata never compromised on the city's facilities; company profits or otherwise," he adds.

Upon taking over, Tata revamped the Meherbai Tata Memorial Hospital, which provides cancer care to patients in the region. He also built a hockey academy in the city to encourage young and local talent. Apart from these, Tata was iconic for his love of dogs, and Jamshedpur has one of India's top Kennel Clubs which regularly hosts dog shows and also takes care of the city's strays.

Tata, himself, learned to pilot an aircraft in Jamshedpur's airplane club, taking lessons alongside his employees.

Sharma points out that, unlike many parts of India, Jamshedpur has not witnessed any communal violence since the 1980s, and has been a melting pot of different regions of India. He gives the credit for this to Tata's values and vision.

"People here are employed, and if they are young then there are facilities for them to be engaged and take an active role in the society. If a man is employed and living with respect and engaged in the community, why would he riot?" he says.

Former Hindustan Times Resident Editor Vijay Murthy was born in and reported from Jamshedpur for decades. Murthy바카라�s grandfather and father both worked in Tata companies.

바카라�We are not a big city like Delhi or Mumbai; we don바카라�t have metros and all these things, you will not find a skyscraper here, but this is a green, peaceful city with many outdoor areas for people, every place is only 15 minutes away, and there are all kinds of clubs and facilities that keep people happy and busy,바카라� he says

Murthy says that he always finds time to visit his hometown, and gives Tata the credit for planning and maintaining the city. 바카라�There is no traffic here, we have people from all around India, all faiths, and everyone바카라�s religion is respected here, we celebrate together,바카라� he says, adding that the city is an 바카라�anti-thesis바카라� to the rest of India. 

Sharma says, 바카라�I term JN Tata as a Founder, Doraji Tata as an implementor, JRD Tata was where our values came from, and Ratan Tata was the Transformer바카라�he transformed the group but somehow kept the values intact in the company and in the city.바카라�