MUMBAI: The final rites of renowned industrialist and philanthropist Ratan Tata were performed with full state honours at a central Mumbai crematorium on Thursday evening.Tata (86), a Padma Vibhushan recipient, died after a brief illness at the Breach Candy Hospital late on Wednesday night.The Mumbai police paid tribute to Tata with a gun salute.The industry titan’s family members, including the half-brother Noel Tata, and top executives from the Tata Group like chairman N Chandrasekaran, were present at the crematorium in Worli.Union Home Minister Amit Shah, his cabinet colleague Piyush Goyal, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, his deputy Devendra Fadnavis, Congress leader and former CM Sushilkumar Shinde, among others, were also present.The last rites were performed as per the Parsi tradition, one of the priests present at the crematorium. After the funeral, there will be three more days of rituals, which will be conducted at the late industrialist’s bungalow in Colaba, south Mumbai.Earlier today, Tata’s body was kept at the National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA) in south Mumbai for the public to pay respects from around 10.30 am to 3.55 pm, where thousands of people from different walks of life flocked in.As the news of Tata’s demise spread, people from different walks of life gathered outside his house early Thursday morning to pay tribute to him.The Maharashtra government has declared a day of mourning in the state on Thursday to pay tributes to Ratan Tata, the Chief Minister’s Office said.A statement quoting CM Shinde said the national tricolour on government offices in Maharashtra will be flown at halfmast on Thursday as a sign of mourning.
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