Almas Hussain relaxing at her home in Jharkhand, a place she loves the most in the world. A Telegraph picture

For most residents of Jamshedpur, she is the ?better half of Tata Tubes head honcho Manzar Hussain?, but for those who know her better, Almas Hussain is a lot more than just that.

An inimitable copywriter, Almas is also a graphic designer and has lately been dabbling with cartooning. Advertising is the best thing that ever happened to Almas, and she thinks good things in life are never planned for. ?I do not have any formal training in advertising. I learnt it all on the job,? she says. Having worked with living legends like Suhail Seth and Swapan Seth obviously helped. ?I worked with them only for a month and that was a great learning experience for me,? she recalls.

The experience helped Almas launch Diva Advertising almost seven years ago, during her third visit to Jamshedpur. A copywriter by profession, Almas runs her agency Diva Advertising from her home in Nildih.

Copywriting is her passion and nothing excites her more than advertising. ?I see my husband doing the same job everyday. For him, even a change leads to nowhere but to the steel industry ? production or selling. I, however, get to sell new products and ideas each day. Advertising comes to me naturally and this is where I get to rock my brains. I love my work and everyday is a challenge for me,? says this self-confessed workaholic. ?I believe my job should be worth the money I am being paid. Only then can my work be truly appreciated.?

Almas knows the flipside of advertising as well and ?regular run-of-the-mill? advertising irks her. ?Advertisements should tell the audience everything about the product. These days, however, advertisements are quite misleading,? says Almas.

For Almas, social life comprises her association with Kalyani, the social service wing of Tata Tubes, and Navjeevan, an association working to make widows self-reliant.

Kalyani also runs a school for children called Toddlers? Den and a clinic in Baridih. The organisation runs adult literacy programmes in rural areas as well.

Navjeevan trains ladies in weaving. These ladies also make soaps and detergents. ?Their work is of excellent quality, but it is sad that they never get credit for their work,? sighs Almas.

Almas, however, does not want to get involved with the administrative wing of these organisations. ?I am only an active supporter,? she says.

Jamshedpur has been another story for Almas. ?I have this thing with Jamshedpur ? no matter where Manzar and I go, we get transferred back to Jamshedpur. Even after visiting many cities around the globe, the steel city has a special place in my heart,? says Almas.

Love for Jamshedpur would not stop this lady from moving to Calcutta. Her father is a resident of Calcutta and the sprawling metropolis is also very close to her heart and she wishes to settle down there someday.

?I will certainly miss Jamshedpur, but I have friends and family in Calcutta and I believe it will not be very difficult for me to get used to that place. Moreover, I make friends pretty easily. So no matter where I am, it never poses a problem for me.?

Her father, a true nawab who loved hunting, used a Volta PPK rifle ? used by James Bond in all his films ?to hunt. ?These days, my father would rather shoot photographs instead of animals,? chuckles Almas.

Her forefathers were the nawabs of Jalpaiguri and her maternal relatives were the illustrious nawabs of Simribhaktiarpur in Bihar. ?We had 28 tea-estates in the north-east, but only one has lived on,? says Almas. Her in-laws too have a noble lineage. Her father-in-law, colonel-doctor Issaq, was with Netaji?s Indian National Army and was also the interpreter between Netaji and Hitler.

Almas, however, is no snob. The best thing about her is that she does not have an attitude problem, and, perhaps, that is the reason everyone is so fond of her.

With Almas? flexibility, she finds it easy to adapt herself to various situations, no matter how adverse.

At her mother?s native place, people are very conservative and she even wears a burkha there. ?We behave like Romans when in Rome,? smiles Almas.

Home is where her heart is, she admits. ?I don?t like being away from home for a long time because of my fifteen-year old son, Mikhail, who is a special child,? says Almas.

?He is a very bright child and is absolutely amazing with computers as well as a complete cricket freak,? she says. ?My boy has brought a lot of warmth to my family.?

Speaking of a healthy mind in a healthy body, it?s yoga that has helped her maintain herself. Almas is also passionate about music, movies and eating. ?I guess the restaurants in the city run because I still live here,? chuckles Almas.

Also fond of romantic Hollywood flicks, she believes that the only thing lacking in the steel city is good cineplexes. ?I love Jamshedpur and the kind of lifestyle I maintain here,? she says. Almas is looking forward to joining her husband, who is, at present, in Dhaka on an assignment.

Nilanjana Ghosh

Choudhury