Zoheb Hassan recalls encounter with Ratan Tata

KARACHI: Pakistani singer Zoheb Hassan paid homage to Indian industrialist Ratan Tata, who passed away on Wednesday night, recalling how the businessman invited him and his sister Nazia Hassan to record an album for his music company.

Ratan, the former Tata Group chairman who put a staid and sprawling Indian conglomerate on the global stage with a string of high-profile acquisitions, died at the age of 86 in Mumbai’s Breach Candy Hospital.

The news of his passing sparked an outpouring of grief from all quarters. Among those who remembered him fondly was Zoheb Hassan, who shared a memorable encounter with Tata along with his sister, Nazia.

Reflecting on the cherished memory through his Instagram official account, Zoheb wrote that he once received a telephone call from “some gentleman by the name of Mr Ratan”.

“My name is Ratan and I am starting a music company by the name of CBS India. I would like you [Nazia] and Zoheb to record an album for us if possible”, he said, the vocalist wrote.

He added the industrialist asked for a meeting to which Nazia replied: “Mama can Mr Ratan come over to discuss a music project with us?!”

“Not today maybe on Friday” said mother, the post read.

“On Friday a tall, impeccably dressed man in a suit arrived at our residence. He had a gentle smile on his face and was extremely soft spoken,” Zoheb wrote.

“He seemed so sincere when he spoke. We had no idea who he was and he never bragged about himself. He just said ‘if you guys agree then let’s make it happen. I will get someone to get in touch with you regarding the agreement. Make sure you get a lawyer and your parents to look at the agreement. If you don’t agree with anything speak to me directly’,” Zoheb wrote on Instagram.

In the post, Zoheb wrote: “The rest is history and we produced the [Young Tarang] album with possibly the first music videos India and South Asia had ever seen. This was around the time MTV had just launched in USA. MTV called us and said they had never seen anything like this and asked if we had done anything in English.”

“When we finally met on the launch of the album at the [Taj Hotel] in [Mumbai] we were then told by the MD of CBS India who this great man was. Until then we had no idea who Ratan was. After the launch of the album he invited Nazia and I to his residence for dinner. We thought he probably lived in a palace. When we reached we were taken aback that the most powerful industrialist lived in such a humble abode.”

“A small two bed flat sparsely decorated. We met his sister, one servant and an Alsatian whom he loved dearly. It was a simple dinner with a great man which to this day I will never forget. A true gentleman and an icon of the business world,” Zoheb concluded.