A Nation in mourning, it is impossible to quantify the river of people who gathered in Mumbai, India's financial heart, to attend the funeral of Ratan Tata, an iconic industrialist described as an "giant" of the sector who transformed the Tata Group into a global behemoth, including those businesses that were major players in civil aviation, aerospace and defense. Tata died yesterday at the age of 86, and under his leadership the group spanned sectors from technology to luxury cars to air travel.

Wrapped in the national flag, his remains were accompanied by military honors. Mumbai observed a day of mourning in his honor, and his passing filled entire pages of the national press.
In addition to the political and institutional world, Mukesh Ambani, the richest man in Asia, also underlined the void left by his disappearance, joining the mood of the common people.

Born in Mumbai to a Parsi family in 1937, Tata originally studied architecture at Cornell University. However, the call of his homeland brought him back to India in 1962, where he began working his way up the family business. In 1991, he took over the company, pushing it towards global expansion, acquiring Jaguar and Land Rover for $2.3 billion in 2008. His philanthropic work and extraordinary industrial vision have been praised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who described him as a compassionate and extraordinary leader.