Ratan Tata felt ‘humiliated’ his classmates at Harvard University: ‘Crossed out day day’ | Trending

Ratan Tata had revealed in 2013 that he felt “confused” and “humiliated” as a new student at the elite Harvard University, and he “crossed out day day” on the calendar as he was desperate to return to the “normal world.” Ratan Tata had attended the HBS Advanced Management program in 1975. Recalling his first weeks on the Harvard campus, Tata shared how daunting it was to attend the prestigious university. “It was the only time in my life where I sat and crossed out day day how many days were left before I could return to the normal world,” Tata said. Tata attended Harvard Business School’s (HBS) Advanced Management Program in 1975. ‘Confused, humiliated classmates’In 2013, he was invited to speak at the dedication ceremony of Tata Hall at Harvard Business School (HBS) in Boston, which was named after him. Tata Hall is a seven-story, glass-and-limestone building that includes residential and learning space for HBS’s executive education program. Tata said his first few weeks at Harvard were “confusing,” and he felt “humiliated” the impressive achievements of his fellow students, according to a report in the Harvard Gazette. (Also read: Ratan Tata dies at 86: Fans remember his kind gesture for woman who trolled him as ‘chhotu’) “But what it did do for me, as I soon found out, was that the confusion sort of disappeared, and I understood the magnitude of what I had learned in a manner that I believe is not possible to do in places other than at this Business School,” he said. ‘Most important 13 weeks of my life’”As I look back, those 13 weeks were probably the most important 13 weeks of my life. They transformed me and my perspective,” he added. As an architect, Tata wanted Tata Hall to be warm and welcoming to visitors, and as open and transparent as possible. “Can the building touch the ground lightly?” he had asked the building’s architect. Tata Companies, the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, and the Tata Education and Development Trust donated $50 million to HBS in 2010. Construction of the building began in December 2011. The building has 179 bedrooms, two 99-seat classrooms, three gathering spaces, and conference rooms for the more than 9,000 students who participate in the prestigious Business School’s executive education program each year. “Although our School has welcomed international students since its very first class in 1908, Tata Hall represents far the most significant gift made an international alum,” Harvard’s dean Nitin Nohria had said. (Also read: India bids farewell to its ‘Kohinoor’ Ratan Tata: A tsunami of tributes takes over the internet)