Mumbai/IBNS: As the entire nation mourns Ratan Tata's demise on Wednesday after a prolonged illness, his former lover and Bollywood diva Simi Garewal shared a heartbreaking post to express her emotions over the loss.

"They say you have gone ..It's too hard to bear your loss..too hard.. Farewell my friend..#RatanTata," Simi Garewall wrote in a post.

Talk show host Simi Garewal in an interview with The Times of India in 2011 admitted to having dated Ratan Tata.

Describing Tata, she told the TOI: “Ratan and I go back a long way. He’s perfection, he’s got a sense of humour, is modest, and the perfect gentleman. Money was never his driving force. He’s not as relaxed in India as he is abroad.”

Although their romance did not lead to marriage, the two remained close friends.

The personal life of India's most beloved industrialist and philanthropist Ratan Tata, who passed away at the age of 86, has remained much of a mystery.

A man of honour, achievements in his professional life acted as a mask over his personal life, which Tata left much to the people's imagination.

In an interview with Simi Garewal, Tata revealed he felt lonely at times for remaining single all throughout his life.

He said, "There are many times I feel lonely for not having a wife or family."

"There was a whole series of things, timing, my absorption in work. There were many things, I came close to getting married a few times and it didn't work out."

The final rites of  Ratan Tata were performed with full State honours at a Mumbai crematorium this afternoon.

Home Minister Amit Shah was among the many high-profile dignitaries who were present to pay his last rites to Ratan Tata. He was accompanied by Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, and Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputies, Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar.

The mortal remains of the industry legend arrived at the cremation ground wrapped in the national flag. It was also kept at the National Centre for Performing Arts in Nariman Point, before his body was transported to the crematorium in Worli, a distance of 12 km.

Thousands lined the streets to bid goodbye to one of their own, an unassuming Mumbai-bornwho was born in Mumbai and bred as 'chhotu' and then went on to transform the Tata brand into a global powerhouse.

Many stood in long queues to honor him, with students and young people particularly seeing him as more than just an industrialist—he was a role model admired for his philanthropy, compassion, and love for animals.

Politicians, celebrities, actors,  sportspersons, and his peers including the Ambanis and the Adanis, too paid their respects.