Naval was born in a poor family, later shifted in an orphanage house, battling for everything, but one day changed his & Ratan Tata’s life forever.
Ratan Tata, the iconic chairman emeritus of the Tata Group, has passed away at the age of 86. While tributes pour in, people are curious about his family background, especially his father, Naval Hormusji Tata.Ratan Tata’s father, Naval Tata was not originally connected to the Tata family by birth. His life took a remarkable turn that forever linked him to one of India’s most prestigious business dynasties.
Naval Tata’s Turning Point In Life
Naval Tata was born on August 30, 1904, in Bombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra. His father worked as a spinning master at Advanced Mills in Ahmedabad. Naval’s father passed away in 1908 when Naval was just four years old, leaving the family in financial distress. Following this, Naval and his mother moved to Navsari in Gujarat. To earn daily bread and butter his mother took up small embroidery jobs.
Recognizing the challenges faced by the family, well-wishers helped Naval to go to an orphanage so he could receive a proper education. This decision would change the course of his life forever.
Naval Tata Adopted By Tata Family
The Naval was sent to J.N. Petit Parsi Orphanage, where he received his early education. It was here that his life took a dramatic turn. During a visit to the orphanage, Lady Navajbai Tata, wife of Sir Ratanji Tata, saw the young Naval. She decided to adopt him as her son, giving him the Tata surname she transformed his destiny for the lifetime. Naval was only 13 years old at the time.
After his adoption, Naval’s education and future prospects were taken care of by the TATA family. He graduated in Economics from Bombay University and later went to London for further studies in Accounting. Naval once said, “I am grateful to God for allowing me to experience the hardships of poverty. It shaped my character more than anything else.”
Naval Tata 2nd Marriage
Naval Tata was married twice. His first wife, Sooni Commissariat, bore him two sons, Ratan Tata and Jimmy Tata. However, Naval and Sooni divorced in the 1940s. Naval’s second marriage was to Simone Dunoyer, a Swiss businesswoman who had come to India on a visit and later settled there after marrying Naval in 1955. They had one son named Noel Tata.
Ratan Tata Adopted & Raised By Grandmother
In 1948, when Tata was 10, his parents separated, and he was raised and adopted by Navajbai Tata, his grandmother and widow of Ratanji Tata. He had a younger brother Jimmy Tata and a half-brother, Noel Tata, from Naval Tata’s second marriage to his stepmother Simone Tata.