Ratan Tata's aide Shantanu Naidu has a new brainchild. Here's what he is working on now

Shantanu Naidu was a close confidante of Ratan Tata. (Image: Shantanu Naidu/LinkedIn)

Shantanu Naidu, widely recognised as Ratan Tata's trusted confidant during the industrialist's final years, is channelling his passion for reading into a burgeoning community initiative.

Naidu’s brainchild, Bookies, is a reading movement that invites people to rediscover the joy of silent reading in public spaces. After successful launches in Mumbai, Pune, and Bengaluru, Naidu has now set his sights on Jaipur, with the inaugural session scheduled for Sunday, December 8.

Announcing the event on LinkedIn, Naidu expressed his excitement, saying, "Jaipur, it’s time. We will see you on Sunday the 8th at Jaipur Bookies. Sign up for the launch below. So excited!" The announcement included a registration link for reading enthusiasts in the Rajasthan capital.

At a recent Bookies session in Bengaluru, Naidu spoke about his vision for the initiative: "Bookies has always been to bring back reading. It seems that reading is very central to the human experience. And it's just gone back into the background." He highlighted how modern habits have diluted our attention spans, remarking, "We used to watch three-minute Reels. We can't even do 1:30-minutes (of video) anymore."

Naidu’s plan for Bookies includes expanding to more Indian cities, including Delhi, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, and Surat, creating spaces for readers to engage with books amid the digital noise.
Ratan Tata named Naidu in his will, reportedly waiving Naidu’s education loans and relinquishing stakes in their joint venture, Goodfellows, which pairs senior citizens with young companions.

Naidu had an emotional tribute after Tata’s passing at 86 in October: “The hole that this friendship has now left with me, I will spend the rest of my life trying to fill. Grief is the price to pay for love. Goodbye, my dear lighthouse,” he wrote, sharing a photograph of the duo.

Last month, he shared another update. "Finally getting a chance to sit down and feel things. Still coming to terms with the fact that I will never see him smile again, or get to make him smile. Over the last 3 days, strangers from across the country have sent messages full of so much care, as if you and I are family for years. Every time I thought grief would swallow, there would be a message or a gesture from one of you that would bolster me a little bit," Naidu wrote.