How A 27-Year-Old Got The Dream Job With Ratan Tata

Working for industrialist and philanthropist Ratan Tata is a job profile that many would give their left arm for. In a post shared on the popular Facebook page 'Humans of Bombay', 27-year-old Shantanu Naidu explains how he managed to get the coveted position.

Shantanu explains that he met Ratan Tata for the first time in 2014 and describes the events that led up to the meeting that changed his life. He says that five years ago, witnessing the death of a stray dog prompted him to start making collars with reflectors on them, so drivers could see the dogs from a distance.

"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?'"

Shantanu says that two months after writing the letter, he received a response from Mr Tata himself, inviting him for a meeting. "I couldn't believe it," he says.

A few days later, Shantanu met Ratan Tata at his office in Mumbai. "He told me, 'I'm deeply touched by the work you do!' I still get goosebumps when I think of it," says Shantanu. Mr Tata even took Shantanu to his place to meet his dogs and funded his venture.

After that, Shantanu says he left to complete his masters, but promised Mr Tata that he would return and dedicate his life to working for Tata Trust.

"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!'" says Shantanu.

Read his full post below:

Pictures shared by 'Humans of Bombay' show Shantanu with Ratan Tata

And with his team at Motopaws that designs reflective collars for stray dogs

The Facebook post has gone viral online. It has collected over 6,000 'likes' in just a couple of hours.

"Great story! It's your good karma in life," wrote one person in the comments section. "Lucky chap. Ratan Tata as his mentor," said another.