Say Cheese! The Tina way!

There is this air of settlement, simplicity and peace around her.

She is casual but flowing, her un-kept grey strands of hair, say's it all.

There is no way that one could guess her age or the reason behind her permanent ambiguous smile. 

One would actually feel like asking for the ingredients of her blissful state, so visible on her face and everywhere.

She would answer all your questions without a hitch, without holding back and among the ingredients, there would surely be “cheese”.

Tina is a personality all by herself, needs no introduction for once you have met her.

I had no idea whatsoever of her celebrity status, that of being the wife of Mansoor khan, the director of some big Hindi films, when I first met her.

Not in any way undermining the achievements of Mansoor, I would surely give a major portion of the credit to his wife for 25 years.

Mansoor, much like me, a man of excesses, is hard to control, had to have this better half in his life to lead a stable life.

Having walked out of the rat race, living here at a farm near connoor, Tina runs a farm “wild acres” teaches Cheese making to the enthusiasts, manages the farm and produces some amazing organic cheese made from milk of her own cows, Holstein Frisian to be specific.

She always talks sense and talks well, loves her wine, bakes her bread, reads well, listens carefully and teaches with passion.

The history, the raw material, the ingredients, the temperature, the timings, washings, curds, culture, tenet, containers, weights, varieties and all the details with finesse of every cheese around the world, is engraved in her mind so beautifully, that her teaching and making of cheese, both look like a poem or an artist with her paint brush, it just flows and even after 12 hours on the floor the face of this untiring women glows.

I have just spent a few days with the lady and our conversation was much around the farm and cheese, me having an affinity for milk and compulsion with farm, did wish to get inside her head to know what has gone into making of her, maybe I would have been too intrusive, but whatever it is, she is surely seen a large portion of a life, that many haven’t, there has to be another ingredient that makes personalities like her!

Till then, its chalk and cheese.

Winner takes it all…..?!

Languages have their limitations!

  “Jo jeeta wo sikandar”

 Mansoor Khan, the director of the this path breaking Hindi film divulges that a lack of expression, something between a question mark and an exclamation mark, in the title of this film led to a misunderstanding of the title and eventually the meaning of the film.

 Does the winner take it all? Is success so important for life to be purposeful? Who prescribes the posts and pillars of success? Does one have to be successful in the eyes of the society, eventually it’s the others who would set up benchmarks for you?

 Mansoor, acknowledges, that this film was his story. He did not prescribe to the milestones setup by the society, he did not belong to the film industry, preferred sailing instead! In the eyes of the world, he failed at sailing and was a “sikandar” at films!

 Some eight years back, Mansoor, along with his wonderful wife Tina and their two children moved out bag and baggage from the tinsel town and settled in a 30 acre farm at connoor, near Ooty.

 It’s a rare thing, who has the heart to walk out of such a life, into such a life, though many would, just might fancy in some of those moments.

 It was ironical, here! There was me, doing this farming business hardly out of choice, not that I dislike what I do, but guess, it’s an ideal situation to succeed in the eyes of the society, like Mansoor, and then follow your heart.
 Mansoor and Tina, manage, “the wild acres” in the foothills of Nilgiris, not so picturesque, but surely quiet and serene. Lovely weather, warm staff like family, amazing food, no TV, no cacophony, just bliss.

 Clouds swiftly make into your window, varieties of wild flowers and many a species of birds, bison grazing in the foyer, boars crossing streets, monkeys at the dining area and elephants uprooting his fig trees. That’s just quaint as it gets.

 Mansoor, shares his failures here more gladly. The farm has been making losses, like all farmers of this country; he is redoing his calculations and strategies every now and then.

 Cow shed is an expensive exercise; bison’s and elephants do not let vegetables grow, government licenses are hard to get, manpower is unavailable and expensive, market is low and far.

 Welcome to my world.