State funeral for Ratan Tata, Maharashtra's day of mourning

Industry titan Ratan Tata, who died at the age of 86 in a Mumbai hospital on Wednesday, will be cremated with full state honours. Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde also announced a day of mourning on Thursday to honour the legendary industrialist and philanthropist.

The national flag will be flown at half-mast across government offices in Maharashtra as a mark of respect. Many events scheduled for Thursday have been cancelled. There will be no entertainment events as well.

The mortal remains of Tata will be kept at the National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA) in south Mumbai's Nariman Point till 4 pm on Thursday for people to pay their respects. At 3.30 pm, his body will be taken to the Worli crematorium for last rites. Home Minister Amit Shah will attend the last rites of Ratan Tata on behalf of the Centre.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the death of Ratan Tata, calling him a visionary business leader and a compassionate soul. The PM said one of Tata's unique aspects was his passion for dreaming big and giving back.

Parsi funeral

Ratan Tata's last rites will take place according to Parsi rituals. His body, which is currently at Mumbai's NCPA grounds for the public to pay their last respects, will be brought to the Parsi crematorium in Worli. It will first be kept in the prayer hall, where some 200 people are expected to be present. A prayer service will take place for about 45 minutes during which the traditional 'Geh Saarna' or chanting of the Gathas will be held. The Gathas are a set of hymns composed by Prophet Zarathustra.

A piece of cloth will then be placed on Ratan Tata's face after which the first complete chapter of 'Ahanveti', or peace prayers, will be recited.

After the completion of the prayer service, the body will be placed in the electric crematorium.