A motivator, a writer, an actor, a voice over artist, a social activist and several other things in between- Tinat Atifa Massod is a lady who does wear her multiple hats with equal elan.
Talking about her early life and how and why she started doing all the things that she is doing today, Tinat says, "Well the stage has been my all-time love. It was in Nursery Class (of Loreto Convent, Shillong) that I enacted my first role as Baby Shri Krishna. Then on, every year, I would be a part of the annual concerts at school. College days were no different. I initially studied in St Mary's College, Shillong and later in Gauhati Commerce College. While in college I enacted numerous interesting roles. After my relocation to Guwahati, I was offered a role in a thirteen -episode Assamese serial, Tezaal Ghora that was produced for Guwahati Doordarshan."
Tinat says that despite the fact that there was no social media in 1994, she became fairly famous as the 'Evil Eva' while travelling by bus to and from office. "Although I did not act in too many serials or movies it was my sheer love for the stage that brought me in contact with some excellent directors," she shares and adds, "Since stage was always an emotion for me, I fell headlong into anchoring for all the major events across the state and beyond. Starting in 1989, I was called to compere almost all the government and private programmes. Despite my passion for speaking on the microphone I still remember shaking like a leaf when I had to host the Honourable Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi's visit for the Platinum Jubilee of The Assam Tribune at the ITA, Machkhowa."
Tinat has had experience as a producer and director too. "The producer-director role came when I was creating documentaries for Prasar Bharati and scriptwriting was an integral part of it. I directed more than 15 documentaries and one serial, which were highly appreciated by viewers and the official committees of Doordarshan. This was another skill I discovered within me, and I had a lot of fun till it lasted. I still do voice-overs, which is very intriguing for me, till date," she states very matter of factly.
Tinat Atifa Masood is perhaps one of north east India's finest and most impactful motivators today. When asked to share about this aspect of her life she says, "To motivate and be motivated has been a teenage passion. I love telling people how important it is to insanely love oneself and in 2016, I ideated a platform #IAmTheBest, which has caught on with students, parents, teachers and some wonderful organisations across the country. The mission of my concept is to touch the lives of 5,00,000 people (young and older) and create fearless, focussed, future leaders for the country.
So why did you conceptualise this? "We need loving, compassionate, empathetic human beings to steer the country and therefore I conceptualised this platform to do my bit in terms of moulding young impressionable minds," she replies.
Tinat has been awarded the Indian Icon of the Year in 2013 and Iconic Woman by Women Economic Forum. Sharing the background of these milestones, she says, "In 2013, Harvinder Mankkar, the creator, director, producer and scriptwriter of the iconic children's animation series- Motu Patlu nominated me for the 'Indian Icon of the Year' Award. I was presented with this Award by Urdu Press Club and Parwaz Media Express at New Delhi for my contribution to media.
She was also conferred the title of 'The Iconic Woman' by the Women Economic Forum in 2019 in Delhi. "This recognition came for my concept #IAmTheBest and the way it had helped many youngsters to understand themselves and process their dreams," she explains.
In addition to these, Tinat was also accorded the 'Changemaker of the Year 2021' by the Association of Muslim Professionals. "During the pandemic, I strived to keep people engaged and optimistic with my zoom series- Conversations with Tinat and Wednesdays for Women. During the course of these shows people simply enjoyed talking about their lives and work," she states.
Tinat has compiled the biography of the former Chief Minister of Assam, Late Tarun Gogoi and has authored several (published) works of prose and poetry.
"Although I started writing seriously at 18, it was my mother who made me fall in love with this art. When I was a naughty toddler of 4, my mother would prop me up with four pillows. She would give me a sheaf of full scape papers and a red-inked ball-point pen and announce with a stern look on her face, "Write and don't get off the bed till I ask you to." I would write lines and lines of indecipherable jargon. My punishment over, my mother would proudly show everyone the incoherent, yet straight lines. I am grateful to my mother for this initiation into writing," Tinat reminiscences.
She continued, "It was my husband Mubin, who suggested that I publish the poems that I had been writing for long. So, my first book of poems, 10:20 was published and released in 2010. Towards the end of 2010, the former Chief Minister of Assam, Late Tarun Gogoi called me to his office and asked if I would be interested to compile his biography. I readily agreed and in 2016, 'The Visionary: Life and Rise of Tarun Gogoi' was published and released by Shri Mani Shankar Aiyar in Rabindra Bhawan. This was quite a mammoth yet satisfying piece of work."
Tinat says that during the pandemic, she wrote vociferously on many subjects. "Though these poems are yet to be published; my second book of poems - Atomic Haze- a collection of 50 poems was published and released online in 2020 by Dhruba Hazarika who is a distinguished and veteran writer of Assam," she shares and continues, "I had gifted my son, 'Adventures of Tirus', on his second birthday, which is a book for children with three stories. I am writing its sequel now. By the end of this year, I hope to come up with a fiction and a non-fiction for young adults. Though written, these two books will need some editing, with additions and deletions."
A nuanced motivational speaker and coach, Tinat has recently been roped in as a motivator-counsellor in the MSME sector. "I have to conduct trainings from time to time for newbie business ideators," she states.
Sharing her observations in terms of the talent pool of Assam she says, "I believe that there is an overwhelming number of talented people in the state of Assam. So far, a lot of them have not been able to understand their own talents and strengths. My mission is to ignite their self belief , help them identify their goals and strive relentlessly to achieve them."
So how would she describe herself and what is her vision for life going forward?
She laughs lightly and says, "Tinat Atifa Masood is a writer by choice, an actor for fun and a lover and a dreamer by default."
After a serious pause she adds, "My life is dedicated to young people. I am very passionately vocal about how they are sometimes treated by adults, especially their teachers. It distresses me when I hear and see stories of students humiliated in front of classmates. I therefore intend to ingrain self-respect in students and also guide teachers through the YouTube videos that I create to help in the process of nation building. Moulding students into loving, happy and empathetic human beings is my simple mission for life."
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