Assisting the visionary Ratan Tata could be a dream many pursue years in accomplishing. 27 year old Shantanu Naidu who bagged the opportunity gets goosebumps when he recalls when Ratan Tata asked him if he'd be interested to work as his assistant.
Naidu recently revealed how Ratan Tata became his mentor on the Facebook page of Humans of Bombay. The post has gained immense popularity among netizens.
In 2014, Naidu was witness to the ghastly site of a stray dog that succumbed to a road accident. Taken aback by what he saw, Naidu started developing collars for stray dogs. These collars fitted with reflectors made it easy for drivers to see the dogs from a distance. With this, stray deaths could be averted.
Naidu's good deed caught attention and soon news of the unique collars were featured in a Tata group newsletter.
Naidu's father egged him to write a letter to Ratan Tata, a die-hard animal and dog lover.
"Word spread like fire and our work got covered in the Tata group of companies' newsletter," says Shantanu. "Around that time, my dad asked me to write a letter to Mr Ratan Tata, since he loves dogs too. I was hesitant at first, but then I said to myself, 'Why not?'"
Tata who only recently joined Instagram responded to the young man's letter after two months and very soon the correspondence got converted into a meeting.
Speaking of meeting Ratan Tata at his office in Mumbai, Shantanu says, "He told me, I'm deeply touched by the work you do!'..."
"I still get goosebumps when I think of it," adds Shantanu while revealing that Tata, the revered businessman invested in his venture.
Naidu's joy soared cloud nine when Ratan Tata asked him the billion dollar question - Would you like to be my assistant?
The young lad had just returned after completing his Masters but he had already promised to dedicate his life working for the Tata Trust in a previous interaction.
Shantanu adds, "As soon as I came back to India, he gave me a call and said 'I have a lot of work to be done in my office. Would you like to be my assistant?' - I didn't know how to react. So I took a deep breath, and a few seconds later said 'Yes!'"
Here is a gist of what Shantanu spoke with the Humans of Bombay:
