Ratan Tata’s sky-high ode to JRD Tata

Corporate and aviation elite assembled at Mumbai’s Taj Lands End on Wednesday evening to celebrate the launch of Vistara, the full-service airline started by the Tata Group and Singapore Airlines.

The evening’s highlight was a short, evocative speech by Ratan Tata. When it ended, invitees gave the éminence grise a standing ovation.

“My mind goes back to over 20 years ago,” Tata said in the speech, “when Mr JRD Tata and myself were called by the cabinet secretary at that time, who said they were going to privatise the airline industry. Prime Minister Narasimha Rao had been in Singapore and signed a protocol of doing something together.”

JRD Tata, a passionate aviator, was excited by the opportunity to start another airline. But he was also aware that the Tatas had been out of the business for a long time. They decided to look for a capable partner and provide India a world-class domestic airline.

“That never happened,” Tata said. “The same government that asked us to start an airline, through successive changes, ensured that it did not happen. I’m grateful that that dream has been fulfilled. JRD Tata would have been delighted if he were here today.”