'Seriously Four Times': Revisiting Ratan Tata's Candid Answer On The Question Of Love

Indian industrialist Ratan Tata passed away at the age of 86 on October 9. Tata will always be remembered as the industry veteran who changed the face of the industry, as the Indian sub-continent grew, post independence.

Ratan Tata Passes Away

He was the face of the Tata Group for decades. He took over the reigns of the company in 1991. In 2017, long-time Tata executive Natarajan Chandrasekaran was appointed as the chairman of the company, first Non-Parsi to do so.

As the country mourns and remembers the benign face of Indian business, we take a look at some of the candid moments that made one of the richest Indians look like another person with his humility.

In an interview, when answering the question of whether he had ever been in love, Ratan Tata replied to the question in the most candid and eloquent manner possible.

Tata On Being in Love

The interviewer enquired of Tata, Have you ever been in love?

To which Ratan Tata replied by saying, Oh yeah. The interviewer followed that up with another question, asking, "How many times". Tata then replied to that by saying, "Seriously, four times".

Furthermore, Tata also invoked the memory of one crucial relationship or the most serious one he had with someone from the United States, when he was working in the country. Ratan claimed that the equation was moving towards marriage but then that desire could not be taken to fruition.

Love Lost In War

According to Tata, the marriage did not come to pass because of the Indo-Chinese war that broke out between India and China in the Himalayas.

In the interview, Tata went to elucidate and said, "In true American fashion, this conflict in the Himalayas, in the snowy, unhabiated part of the Himalayas, was seen as a major war between India and China by the United States.

As a result of the war, the said person did come to India, and Tata did not get married.

Ratan Tata passed away at Mumbai's Breach Candy Hospital on October 9, due to old-age-related ailments, at the age of 86.