Mr Tata, my dost

A 27-year-old whose friendship with industrialist-philanthropist Ratan Tata began over a shared love for strays, revisits the extraordinary story in a new illustrated book

You don’t go away from the lighthouse, you go towards it,” shares 27-year-old Shantanu Naidu, somewhere in the early part of his memoir, when he appears to be at a crossroads, where a new life is waiting to begin for him at Cornell University in Ithaca and a fledgling friendship had to be left behind. It’s that moment, which in a way, becomes a life-changing incident in Naidu’s life, prompting him to make a choice to return home after his MBA at Cornell, so that he could be closer to his lighthouse, Ratan Tata. For over a year now, Naidu’s friendship with the veteran industrialist, philanthropist, and former chairman of Tata Sons, has drawn a lot of curiosity and public attention. A friendship between a millennial and an octogenarian is not run-of-the-mill. Naidu, who knew Tata for over four years before that, says he was aware of the extraordinariness of their bond. '

“A lot of youngsters expressed their envy, in a constructive way of course, saying that I had no idea what position I was in. Initially, I was quite flattered. But, I soon realised that these people actually wanted to be in my position, because they wanted to see what I was seeing, and hear from Mr Tata, what I was hearing. I had been enjoying a certain kind of privilege, and it would have been very selfish to keep it all to myself,” says Naidu, adding, “That sort of seemed the right time to put it all down.”

Shantanu Naidu and illustrator Sanjana Desai with Ratan Tata

His new book, I Came Upon A Lighthouse: A Short Memoir of Life with Ratan Tata (HarperCollins India), illustrated by Sanjana Desai, revisits the story of how it all began—their shared compassion and love for abandoned dogs—evolving into something more deep and endearing. Naidu, who currently works as deputy general manager at Ratan Tata’s office, first met the industrialist five years ago, when he was an automotive design engineer at Tata Elxsi. He, along with his friends, had kickstarted a project called Motopaws, making dog collars coated with reflective fabric, to prevent roadkill. 

Being a fourth generation Tata employee—his great-grandfather worked for Tata Power, grandfather for Tata Electrical, and father for Tata Motors—Naidu writes about experiencing this urge to let Tata know about his work. A letter, and many meetings later, which included an investment in their start-up, Naidu and Tata would grow to become friends. In a world where long distance bonds barely prevail, Tata, despite his hectic schedule, made time to meet Naidu in New York, and later even attended a pre-graduation ceremony with his family. “For them [my family], it’s all still surreal. I don’t think they have understood it [our friendship] completely,” he admits. Incidentally, it’s his mum who encouraged him to pen down his experiences with Tata. “Whenever I used to come home [after meeting him], my mom would ask me all these questions about what happened. She made me write everything in a tiny red book, saying that some day my memories won’t be as sharp.” One notebook led to another; eventually, Naidu found himself swimming in a sea of stories.

Shantanu Naidu, now the deputy general manager at Tata Trusts, says his mother encouraged him to jot down memories of his interactions with Tata

He says that a lot of people suggested he write a book about the lessons he learnt from Tata. “But, that isn’t the kind of story I wanted to tell,” he says. “I have always been a fan of intergenerational friendship. I find it very endearing. A lot of people thought I had done something ridiculously extraordinary for something like this to happen in my life. But, I wanted to show, through the series of incidents, that what happened to me, could pretty much happen to anyone,” he says. He always wanted to have his story illustrated, and Desai, he feels, was a good choice, because he has collaborated with her in the past. “She also has a knack of expressing emotions. And this book comes from a very emotional space,” he says.

Desai and Naidu began working on the book two years ago. “He’d send me a chapter, and then he and I would pick out the moments that we thought could be shown in an illustration, before finalising on one,” she says, adding, “I am someone who is very instinctive. I illustrate when I feel a connection with something, especially emotionally. Shantanu’s stories made it very easy.”

Looking back, Naidu is himself surprised at how his relationship with Tata grew. “Even after the first meeting, I wasn’t sure we’d come this far. But, anyone who meets him, immediately realises that this is not a man you should be fearfully in awe of.  He is someone who is very authentic, and this authenticity is so disarming,” he says. One of his life-defining moments was when Tata, who now heads Tata Trusts, invited him to join his office.  “That really changed the dynamics. We were friends first, and then we became colleagues. He was now my boss. It took some time for both of them [personal and professional] to coexist, but now I had a front-row seat to how Mr Tata operates. I had direct access to him, to learn from him, and also see him carry out his responsibilities as chairman of Tata Trust or as an investor. I got the best of both worlds.” Living away from family during the lockdown, it was Tata who, he says, took care of him. “It strengthened our companionship. He has been there for me, and in different capacities at different points in my life, sometimes as a paternal figure, brother, mentor, or just as a friend.”

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