Ratan Tata and Shantanu Naidu: Millennial-Millionaire Friendship That Touched Hearts | On trend

Among those mourning business tycoon Ratan Tata, who died on Wednesday evening at the age of 86, was a young man on a bicycle who accompanied the hearse on its final journey. Shantanu Naidu, one of Tata's closest confidants and his trusted assistant, was less than half his age, but the two shared an unparalleled bond.

When the news of Ratan Tata's death broke, Shantanu shared a heartfelt message dedicated to their friendship. “The void this friendship has left in me now is one I will spend the rest of my life trying to fill.” Grief is the price we pay for love. Goodbye, my dear lighthouse.”

The two met over 10 years ago in 2014 when Shantanu started working at Tata Group.

Their love for dogs brought them closer together

Shantanu, a fifth-generation Tata employee, had started designing glow-in-the-dark collars for stray dogs to make it easier for drivers to spot them and avoid accidents.

The animal lover needed money to grow his business and decided to write a letter to Ratan Tata asking him for help. To his surprise, Tata wrote back within two months and invited Shantanu to come to Mumbai and work with him.

The two bonded over their love of animals and worked closely together to create Shantanu's company, Motopaws. (Also Read: Ratan Tata's dog Goa visits NCPA to pay tribute to the man who took him to Bombay House)

Shantanu also founded Good Fellows, a startup that connects older people with young fellow travelers. “I don't know when it started, but I've always had a feeling of affection for older people. Looking back, I notice that many of my friends have silver hair and hearts of gold,” he wrote on the website.

The two became closer through their joint initiatives, but soon Shantanu had to leave for the USA to get his MBA. However, he promised Tata that he would return to India and work for him after his graduation.

Keeping his promise, Shantanu accepted the offer to become Ratan Tata's assistant and was also appointed manager of the Tata Trust, the youngest person to hold the position. In return, Tata attended his graduation ceremony.

Watch films, get your hair cut together

In a BBC profile, Shantanu shared that the two spent a lot of time together, from getting haircuts to watching movies. Shantanu even created Tata's Instagram account through which the industrialist shared old pictures of himself and photos of his dogs.

Shantanu said that both of them liked action comedies like “The Other Guys” and “The Lone Ranger”, but Tata's favorite show to binge was “Fauda”.

Naidu affectionately called Tata “Millennial Dumbledore,” a name he claimed defined the 86-year-old who was wise like the Harry Potter character but still young at heart.

During the Covid pandemic, Shantanu released his first book, Came Upon A Lighthouse, based on the life lessons he learned from his boss. “He was a tough boss, a key mentor and an understanding friend,” he told the BBC. (Also Read: Ratan Tata's final journey: An emotional Shantanu Naidu leads his hearse on a bike)