Awesome Jani

Almost everyone I know waxes eloquent about the rains but I haven’t yet wrapped my head around loving the monsoons. I like sunshiny days. This morning was just right – Friday, bright, breezy with little or no chance of rains. I wore my favourite pair of shoes ( not the usual rainy gear). I even chanced upon some beautiful flowers at Dadar station. The train happened to be unusually crowded with ladies pounding their way through the mob and trampling underfoot my innocent blue shoes. Then as soon as the train arrived at Andheri station, it started pouring. Within minutes, the lane meandering out of the station expanse was flooded.

Autorickshaw drivers seemed to have an implicit consensus about charging people a whopping 100 bucks for a shared ride. My destination was within Andheri- Marol. I was criminally late to work and decided to shell out 100 bucks.  All this when it rained for merely 15 minutes. I was sharing the auto with two hyperventilating young fellows who were late for their interview. They began talking about how this delay would mess up their lives and soon the topic veered to how the world deserved to end. The ride was bumpy and only half of my rear was plonked on the seat. I made it to work but I needed to vent. 

I knew just the right person – my colleague and my pal – Ushma Jani. I cribbed. You would think she would have given my some gyan and asked me to calm down. Instead she said, ‘Do you want hot chocolate?’ I could hear the smile in her voice and sense her eyes dancing with excitement. That simple reply to my rant lifted my spirit.

I can’t fathom my connection with Jani. She is filled with unexpected gems. Her charm lies in the ordinariness or the pure bizarreness and irrelevance of the things she says. One moment she is talking about how snakes are ‘hot’ and before you know it she’s looking up Nepal airfares. Plotting imaginary adventures, she regularly asks me, ‘You wanna come?’

A day with Jani somewhere in it is rarely a dull day 🙂