Rita Farhat Mukand

Brimming with life and energy, Tinat Atifa Masood’s story takes you to extraordinary realms. A multi-tasker, she has anchored major events for VVIPs in Guwahati for 15 years and is an actor, model, artist, and writer, IELTS trainer, business communication and soft skills trainer, motivational speaker, empath, and influencer. Her two hashtags #IAmTheBest and #StoryOfMyLife has fascinating stories behind them. “I have total faith in humanity. In the morning when I do my Namaz, I always pray for all people.”

Tinat Atifa Masood was born in Satribari; her parents took her to stay in Shillong in her grandmother’s place in their joint family. “I had a very humble beginnings and my father did not earn so much and he had to look after the family after my grandfather passed away so he took my grandfather’s job while he still had not graduated. I believe a tiny room was special where my father would sit and have big dreams for me. He would tell my mother, “My daughter is going to study in Loreto Convent.”

“Then, studying in Loreto Convent was a big deal because it was expensive, we had only three Loreto Convents in India, one in Shillong, one in Lucknow, and one in Darjeeling. My mother exclaimed, “How can you even think of that when you don’t have that kind of money!” but my father responded confidently, “No, she is going to study in Loreto Convent.

Tinat Atifa Masood

“My Dad’s confidence and dreams in that small room in Shillong soared high and I did study in Loreto Convent and had wonderful schooling from class 3 to 10. I blossomed in acting and the first act was on Lord Krishna chosen by my Manipuri dance teacher for the role as I was a chubby girl. I had no idea who was Lord Krishna at that time. After that, each year, I was chosen for the annual plays and it was the most exciting part of my school life with fantastic teachers from Ireland. I remember Sister Rita trained me in elocution, oratory skills, and how to recite, and act.

“I needed to get a job to look after the family. My first job was as a front office receptionist at Guwahati Stock Exchange, I then worked in East-West Airlines and later got a good job in Hindustan Times, doing very well, with three pages of the Guwahati news and in a private company.

I finally realized if I kept working like this, I would have nothing to leave behind and that is when I started My production company Siang Valley Production. I made documentaries for many companies including big hydropower projects. One documentary on the history of Assam tea that kicked off big called the Brew of the Eastern Clouds reached a national to international level when a German lady showcased it in a festival in Berlin, Bollywood and Beyond.

Tinat Atifa Masood with the Nurses

“In 2004, the Rotary Club chose me along with four others as an ambassador of Peace and Cultural Understanding and I represented India in Canada displaying our Indian culture, dances, songs, and folk stories through performances, and presentations for a month. With the Rotary Club, I did a lot of social work, such as free eye camps, and helping in free eye operations, In 2017, I became the second president of the oldest club in the city, and I was the only lady.

“My husband, Mubin Barbaruah, had always wanted me to join politics and I was there briefly, but I soon understood that I did not fit. I believe all people are equal and every individual is involved in making the country great, I am here to make India great, my country comes first and my religion is secondary.

“My son Tirus Barbaruah was born in 2006 and three years later, I fell into a well of depression contemplating ways to end my life. One of the triggers was enormous weight gain. When people started telling me with mock horror, ”Oh my God, Tinat, look at you, you are looking so fat you are going to break the stage,” I became very distressed. One book that saved my life was, How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie.

“In 2019, in August my mother passed away and in November 2019, while I was taking care of my father, on the morning of November 21, 2019, I woke up at 6 a.m., feeling very uneasy and my head was swinging. I called up my husband. I told him, “I am feeling unwell’, and he said, “Go to the kitchen, take some medicine. Since I did not have the strength to go to the kitchen, I went to the bathroom and blacked out, cracking my head, and lying there.

“My father saw me and said helplessly, “I can’t pick you up, you are too heavy,” I believe I told him though I can’t remember it, “I’ll pick myself up, don’t worry,” and I got up slowly, got into bed and fell then into a coma.

Tinat Atifa Masood working with factory workers

By the time my husband reached my Dad’s place, my body had turned cold, my eyes had stopped dilating, and my pulse was gone. He gave me an injection which was in the home which kept my heart pumping because he was medically learned, even though he is a businessman and not a doctor. He hurriedly drove me to GNRC Hospital, which is in 6 Mile and had he taken me anywhere else, I would have died.

It was strange that as they put up the wires and other stuff, my heart stopped beating and I was declared to be clinically dead, code blue. Around 1:30 to 2 in the afternoon on November 21, 2019, I died which means the doctors also asked my husband to fill up a form to say, “My wife is dead and the hospital is not responsible.” With heart in mouth, my husband went back to the emergency room and asked them desperately, “Can you do something for her?” This was when the two doctors started giving me CPR, and I started to breathe again. My husband later told me, “I saw you dying in front of my eyes, you went limp, and I had to fill up a form.”

“On gaining consciousness in the ICU, I could not move my hands and feet. I thought I was in an asylum.” I started screaming  Papa, Papa. My husband pleaded with folded hands, “Please don’t shout, you had a bad accident with a fall and if you shout you will break your vocal cords.” I had lost my memory and did not recognize him, and asked, “Who is this guy!”

“The next among so many people who came to see me was the former chief minister, Tarun Gogoi. I wrote his biography. On seeing him I thought I know this person. The only person I was talking to was my son. I asked my son, “Have you gone for tuition?

Tinat Atifa Masood on the stage as a host

Tinat Atifa Masood“When COVID started in March, I started walking in the morning and the evening and to get my Dad’s medicines, I would walk at least 3 to 4 kilometers, do my workouts, and do yoga and my weight is now around 67.8 kilos. I transformed myself to such an extent that I can help people. I knew I had to do something. During COVID when I came back to stay with my son and my husband went to stay with my father, I remember my savings were dwindling. At that time my son said, “Mom, start training yourself in all the ways you can”, so I trained myself in NLP, IELTS, business communication, soft skills, positive parenting, and positive psychology.

“I was with Tata Power and Skill Development Institute and trained their 3rd-year college students in arts and science departments, teaching them how to become employment-ready, how to deal with conflicts, and how to write an email, because it is difficult for young people to write an email, they have no idea how to do it, I teach them. I was in Mumbai for 2 years training bank officials in IIBM.

“Apart from that, my son has a very keen eye for art so he told me,  “You are very good with your handwork and artwork, why don’t you restart your art journey again?” I restarted my art journey this year in my home right on the terrace where I have a small room I am converting into an art studio and I create art called Magic Kraft Screen, I do artwork every day, it is very calming.

“Last year, I gave myself a challenge to write 12 books. I wrote poetry, fiction, and a children’s book, and I have 2 fiction ready right now, I published 10 books last year, and I have a horror novel and a children’s book.

“I have so many things happening. While I love acting, I got resistance to acting from my family. I even got a serial to do, which made me quite famous as back then we did not have anything else but television, I remember wherever we went, some people would recognize me

“My mother would say I would get corrupted but I have never met a single man in this profession who has told me to come to bed with me, I will give you a role because maybe they are scared of me for being upfront because they know if they do that, I will not spare them, will be very vocal and tell everyone.

“Each day I make videos on X on why roads are broken; yesterday I made one showing the crater. I also say good things about the government. I finally got street lights in my area after 27 years and I said I am so happy, if I am going to be critical about BJP, I am also going to say good things about them when things happen.

Tinat Atifa Masood with other women

“The chief minister re-tweeted this and said, “We stand by the safety of women because I mentioned that I am very scared and concerned about women walking down the streets and I have been asking all other governments in the past and the chief ministers to do something in my area for the streets. I come in a car and I only flash the headlights for the girls who are walking alone, going slow at the pace of 10! Now, we have proper footpaths and we have lights in my area and I have to say about that. I have spoken about the craters and broken roads, and flash floods, I am also going to speak about the good things.

“I believe in equality. At home, if I see my husband is cutting pineapple and tells me to give the bowl to our son, I ask him, “Why did you put more in his bowl and less for us?” and he replies, “He is our son, he needs to have more.”  But I say, “Do you know he is going to be entitled if he is going to go out into the world? I don’t want him to feel entitled about anything; he should feel equal with all other humans.

“I am consistent as a citizen and get results. When a water pipe burst and flooded the road for 8 days, I shared the video and kept speaking about it and the people finally came to repair it. I helped with the floods, went with my son, and collaborated with the Robin Hood Army. Single-handedly, you can do a lot of things without being in politics.

“I am accepted across different communities, Malwari, Bengali, Hindus, and Christians. Before the Ram Temple inauguration, there was a huge program here in Guwahati in the Malwari area, and I was the only Muslim invited, only woman, and only Assamese invited. No Assamese and no Muslim was present in that fully religious program and I was put in the VIP stand because I accept people as they are.

“I have completed my Quran Sharif, but had no one to explain to me what it means, but only later when I got married, my husband explained the beauty of Surahs and I realized that everything boils down to humanity. My mother taught me that when your enemy comes home, treat that person with so much respect, and love and make that person feel so comfortable that that person is never going to be your enemy again. When I see videos of Muslims being lynched, hacked, old men and young boys attacked, it breaks my heart but the only thing to help is not to write things to make people hate us more but write things that will make people love us.

Tinat Atifa Masood in her workshop

“I go to a factory to train factory workers who face issues such as headaches, and depression. I worked 11 days with them and now they look forward to meeting me every Saturday. They were initially very shy to shake hands with me, but I taught them to consider me someone who has come to train them and not consider me a woman. These men have transformed.

“I have one success story about a batch of girls who came for leadership training. They travelled by bus from a distant village for 2.5 hours to reach early in the morning and wait for my classes at 2 pm. After the internship, they planned to get jobs that would pay them Rs. 7,500 a month. I told them such a salary would not help them meet their expenses, food, travel. I made them close their eyes; and visualize they are in an AC office, well-dressed, with a car waiting outside. Six of them got up and said, “Ma’am, we completed the course; you have given us so much.”

One of them shared her testimony of how she sat in the park thinking, “Ma’am always taught me anything is possible, so I decided to do the impossible.

“The girl would sleep for 3 hours and study 4 hours in the morning, travel to her institute, go back, do her homework, and housework, do tuition, and still say, “I’m going to do it and show you anything is possible.” I told her, “I am going to be the happiest person the day you get your results and pass.”

“I am starting my level of online training classes by linking up with another guy, who is very good with this, on public speaking, image building, anger management, how to become employment-ready, etc. My theme is that I am the best. I am on a mission to touch the lives of 5 lakh people and fearless future leaders of the country because the country wants leaders and citizens who ask questions.

READ MORE: Empowered Muslim woman is no threat to religion

I have great faith in humanity. I go for my morning walk near a hill near my place which worries my mother-in-law who says, “Why do you go so far when you had a head injury, you will faint.” I reply, “If I faint, all these people I know will get me back home safe or give you a call and ask you to come and pick me up because I know the entire road including the dogs and cats.”

Rita Farhat Mukand is an independent writer and author.