Indian tycoon Ratan Tata has died at the age of 86

Peter Casey, author of The Story of Tata, described Tata as a “modest, reserved and even shy man” who had a “splendid calm” and a “grim discipline” about him.

In 2016, he found himself embroiled in a rare, unsavory controversy when his successor as chairman of Tata Sons, Cyrus Mistry, was ousted, sparking a bitter management feud. Mistry died in a car accident in 2022.

The business tycoon also had a lighter side. His love of fast cars and planes was well known – the Tata Group website describes these as some of his “enduring passions”.

Tata was also an avid scuba diver, a hobby that faltered as he got older “as his ears could no longer withstand the pressure.”

He was also a dog lover and fondly remembered the many pets that kept him company over the decades.

“My love for dogs as pets is always strong and will last throughout my life,” the industrialist said in an interview in 2021.

“It is an indescribable sadness every time one of my pets dies, and I decide that I cannot bear another farewell like this. And yet after two to three years my home becomes too empty and too quiet for me to live without her, so there is another dog that gets my affection and attention just like the last one,” he said.

He has also often been praised for his simplicity. In 2022, a video of him driving a Nano car – one of the cheapest cars in the world, now largely considered one of Tata's failed dreams – went viral on social media.