RIP Ratan Tata. Tata Group doyen had a great sense of humour. Here are some of his funny quotes

Ratan Tata, the Tata Group doyen who died on Wednesday night (Oct 9) had a sharp sense of humour which was sometimes self-deprecating. Some of his sense of humour used to shine forth at public events, where his answers left the audience laughing out loud. 

Once, to a rather profound question about his statement that ‘I don’t believe in making right decisions, I make decisions and make them right’, Tata said, “Facebook and Twitter made that statement, it was not made by me.”

The female presenter gasped, saying “That’s awkward.”

“You come to know of it when people read them back to you,” Tata said to laughter from the audience.

“There is no remedial action you can take with social media,” he added for good measure.

Watch: From Indica To Jaguar: Ratan Tata’s Legacy Lives On

Asked by Infosys cofounder Narayana Murthy at a business summit what his first feeling was when he sat in the chair once occupied by Tata founder JRD Tata, Ratan said he was confused as he had big shoes to fill.

“The confusion was not only in my mind because J [JRD Tata] never left the office. Very often when he walked into the boardroom, he would sit in the chairman’s chair, and then five minutes later he would say ‘Oh, I shouldn’t have been here’. Then you play musical chairs in the boardroom.”

“Several of them had to be helped into the boardroom because they could no longer walk freely. Some of them came and sat down and fell asleep. Others didn’t hear too well,” he said as the audience laughed.

“And when it came to making changes, they all woke up and ensured that no change took place,” he said with giggles. His first few years as Tata Group chairman were spent on how to “graciously ease them out of the company,” he added.

But probably the most meme-worthy answer from Tata was to a girl student, who asked ‘What excites you the most?’

“That’s the most difficult question you’ll ask this evening. How can I say that publicly?” he said, leaving the audience in splits and letting them make their own conclusions.

Watch a compilation video here:

At a startup event when Snapdeal founder Kunal Bahl showered him with praise, saying he never thought the day would come when he’d be sitting six inches away from Tata, the maverick tycoon said, “Thank you for putting me at ease. I have been as nervous about sitting six inches from you as you’ve been.”

Bahl then asked the audience how many people who want to be entrepreneurs would want Tata’s investment. To this, Tata said, “Then they will need Kunal’s money.” 

Once, at a public interaction with his former girlfriend, actress and TV host Simi Garewal, Tata made a humourous attack on Bollywood for violence in films, which in his telling used a lot of ketchup in place of blood.

“I think there’s more ketchup spread in Hindi movies than in all the restaurants in Bombay,” he said.

“I’m very irritating to be around when I watch television. I’m very impatient and watch four or five channels at the same time,” he said in another exhibition of his often self-deprecating humour.

(With inputs from agencies)