Ratan Tata's mortal remains taken from home to NCPA for people to pay tributes

Mumbai: Legendary industrialist Ratan Tata's body was on Thursday morning taken from his house in a hearse, decked with white flowers, to the NCPA in south Mumbai where it would be kept for people to pay their last respects.

Before the hearse started from Tata's home, located a couple of kilometres away from the National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA), the Mumbai Police band played a tune as a mark of respect to him.

As the news of Tata's demise spread, people from different walks of life gathered outside his house since early Thursday morning to pay tribute to him.

Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar was among the early visitors at Tata's home.

RIP Ratan Tata: As tributes pour in, track all updates in our blog.

Ratan Tata, who is credited with transforming the Tata Group into a globally renowned conglomerate, died at age 86 at the Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai on Wednesday night.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, his deputy Devendra Fadnavis, Maharashtra’s education minister Deepak Kesarkar and industrialist Mukesh Ambani were among those who rushed to the hospital after hearing about Tata's death.

The mortal remains of Tata were brought out of the hospital in an ambulance escorted by police vehicles early on Thursday and taken to his residence in Colaba.

CM Shinde has said Ratan Tata will be accorded a state funeral.

For students and other young people who gathered at the NCPA to pay their last respects to Ratan Tata on Thursday, he was not just an industrialist but a role model with a human face, also better known for philanthropy and his love for animals.

Abhishek Gabhne (23), who hails from Nagpur and is a MBA student at a city college, came to the National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA) in south Mumbai to pay tribute to Tata, who died in a hospital here on Wednesday night.

For him, Tata was a definition of philanthropy.

"I felt I lost a family member. He did a lot for the people and the country," the student said.

"If people can go to Lalbaughcha Raja (Ganesh pandal known to attract a large number of devotees), one can definitely go to pay respect to the raja who ruled the hearts of people," he said, battling humidity and long queue.

Rohit Rathod (22), another college student and a resident of Colaba area in Mumbai, was also at the NCPA as a mark of respect for the work done by the veteran industrialist through the Tata Trusts and as an animal lover.

"Such persons will never be made again," Rathod said.

Sujay Kulkarni (24), an employee of the Centre for Developing Advanced Computing, said he has been hearing about the work done by Tata since his childhood. He described Ratan Tata's works like the one done by a "yug purush".

"Whom will you pay respect to if you don't pay respect to him," Kulkarni said.

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 half-mast on Thursday as a sign of mourning.

Tata's mortal remains will be kept at the NCPA from 10 am to 3.30 pm on Thursday for people to pay their respects.

His last rites will be performed in Worli area of Mumbai later in the day.