I&D: Hi Tinu Verghis, Welcome to I&D interviews, You had been applauded for your unconventional looks in India and on the international ramps. Please share your side of experience with us?

Tinu Verghis: Whatever.

I&D: What has been your strength so far pertaining to your profession?

Tinu Verghis: Just like any other job, if you want to be successful, you have to work hard at being the best at it. If you are convinced about yourself, nobody can doubt you. I have no particular strength except that I am perfect for this job and I give it my 100%.

I&D:  How and why did you prefer modeling over other career options?

Tinu Verghis: Same reasons why you chose to be a blogger… because that is what you want.

I&D:  I have heard that you are associated with lot of causes for the betterment of commoners. Please tell us about it.

Tinu Verghis: Nothing to gloat about. We have a paddy field and we like to see it green. I gave the land to the local priest to cultivate it. We get about 1000 kilo of rice; we donate that to the orphanage. Now people in the village have come forward to give their fallow lands to the priest to cultivate. My maid wanted to learn to read, so I found her an adult literacy program. I have two little girls in Goa I put through school. One wants to be a pediatrician and the other a violinist. The little pediatrician minds her own business operating on dolls but the violinist kills me every day with her violin practice. I had the opportunity to introduce sustainable fashion at the just concluded Wills India fashion week.

I&D: The model union was started by you, when others are lost in the fame game, what made you think of this?

Tinu Verghis: I am nuts.

I&D:  What is the major change you would want to bring in to the business if you could?

Tinu Verghis: Higher pay and more professionalism. There is no room for talent in this industry anymore. The attitude right now between the models and choreographers is, I lick your ass and you lick mine. The talented young models come and go really fast because they have neither patience nor interest in lip service. People close to 50 are still modeling in this country. At least if they exuded some bit of oomph on the ramp, I can understand. Instead, they look like, they are one step away from walking onto the ramp rolling along an intravenous drip.

I&D: Who has been your role model in the industry and otherwise?

Tinu Verghis: Why look at others for inspirations? I know what I want and I go for it head on.

I&D: Define beauty and romance?

Well, Quentin is beautiful. I am glad that I don’t have to look at a tragically ugly face while having sex. So yeah, romance without beauty is not very exciting.

I&D: The Vogue India Cover( April 2010)  was a huge hit all across the world…praising Indian skin color (dark, dusky, bronze, golden).  It’s a major breakthrough in the country where the color stigma considered since ages  gets appreciated as  an honor. Would like to have your word on it.

Tinu Verghis: Stigmas don’t change so fast, but it’s lovely that Vogue stood for Dark skin after all this time. I am a few shades lighter on the cover than in real life though. Well, such is life.

I&D: How would you define fashion? Any fashion tips you would like young girls to follow?

Tinu Verghis: Squeezing yourself into branded clothes is not the ideal way of being fashionable. Being slim and fit is fashionable. Whatever you wear will always look good if you are bodily fit. It is easy to buy expensive clothes. Being a fat slob is easy to. It is harder to make a fashion statement. Japanese are fantastic in making fashion statements. They have their individual wacky sense of style and they are not afraid to flaunt it. They are champions at layering clothes. I love it.

I&D: I saw a new eco-friendly wave initiated by you at Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week Spring-Summer 2011. Please enlighten. 

Tinu Verghis: It is important that we take social responsibilities. Being complacent about nature is not just selfish but disastrous in the long run. We have to move towards sustainable fashion using Organic Cotton, Bamboo and natural dyes so as to preserve the environment from the harsh toxin that is being released from the pesticides, insecticides and chemical dyes. All of which contaminates the ground water and air. Personally I love Bamboo. It is a fast growing grass. It releases 35% more oxygen than the equal number of trees. It doesn’t require to be replanted.

We are so busy fighting over geographical boundaries and standing up for national anthems at movie theatres that we forget what it actually takes to respect the land we stand on and the air we breathe. Instead of the hypocrisy of national pride, we must look at ourselves and see the adverse effects we have on the environment and change for the better. The environmental effects of the clothes we wear is one such change. Cotton is one of the dirtiest crops in the world. It uses insane amount of water, pesticides and insecticides. Chemical dyes are the worst water contaminants.

I&D:  Modeling is a very demanding profession, you travel a lot, any interesting story you want to share with the readers?

Tinu Verghis: We once landed in Germany for an Indian show and found ourselves in an old age home, which was our sponsored accommodation. We were asked to take over few of the rooms that were left vacant by some dead people. It was a surreal day. I remember running out of the building, swigging down absinthe and cracking up at the paradox. I really don’t mind the musty smell of an old person, but a building full of really old people was a killer!! Again, how can any show organizer/choreographer in her right frame of mind expect partially sane models to live in an old age home? To add insult to injury, the organizer/choreographer checked herself in at Crowne Plaza.

I&D:  What is the most interesting place you have traveled to?

Tinu Verghis: Rwanda with the Gorillas

I&D: When I was stationed in Mumbai, I had this lovely neighbor-Aunt Misquitta from Goa. She used to make some lovely pies. Suggest me some delicious Goan Recipes based on  your likes?

Tinu Verghis: I am a Malayali and my stomach is more Malayali than me. Here is one of my fav dish:

Spicy red sardine curry:

6 yummy fresh sardines

2 tbsp coconut oil

1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds

Mustard seeds

2 twigs Curry leaves

3 pieces Kodam puli [Kerala tamarind for fish] soaked in a cup of warm water with salt

2 shallots sliced thin

3 small pieces of garlic sliced thin

Make a slightly diluted paste of 2 tsp red chilli powder, 1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp black pepper powder in water

Method: Heat the oil and splutter the fenugreek, followed by mustard seed. When they finish spluttering, add the curry leaf. Add the shallots and garlic, fry on low fire till the garlic releases its nice flavor. Add the masala paste and stir till oil separates from the concoction. Add the tamarind with the water, boil. Add fish, leave the pot open. Add hot water for more gravy. Yummy.