STORY 9 :Janeesha & Parvin Jul 05 2023

According to author Murakami, our chance encounters are due to ties made in past lives. Janeesha and Parvin grew up one street away from each other in Quatre Bornes, but they never met.

Janeesha lived in a modest family staying in one single room, and her parents struggled for years to build a house to accommodate their growing family. Her mother worked as a hairdresser, while her father was a salesman. When, due to unforeseen circumstances, the factory where Janeesha’s father worked closed, the family had to make a lot of sacrifices to make ends meet. Janeesha realized early on that her dream of living the life of a princess was unattainable, and she learned, from a young age, to be practical and content with what she had. She later took a job to be able to pay for her further studies, and when she succeeded in getting her teaching diploma, she felt a deep sense of accomplishment seeing the pride in her parents' eyes.

Janeesha became a devotee of Sai Baba from an early age and found a sense of stability in her life through her participation in spiritual activities and singing devotional songs. The feeling of belonging and connection she felt within the group became an integral part of her existence. However, she noticed a recurring trend among her friends: they all left the group once they found romantic partners. During one of the prayer sessions, Janeesha silently expressed a wish in her heart for a companion who would not take her away from her spiritual abode but rather walk with her on the spiritual path that she had chosen.

Parvin also grew up in Quatre Bornes, one street parallel to where Janeesha lived. Like Janeesha's mother, Parvin's mother was also a hairdresser. Similar to Janeesha's family, Parvin's family lived in a single room as well. Parvin had a challenging childhood, marked by poverty and financial crises and required government subsidies as a needy student to be able to attend college. When Parvin was young, his father, who worked as a mechanic, would call him and his brother to watch as he performed menial tasks, so his sons could learn how to do things. Similarly, since the family was poor, her mother would not afford to go to another hairdresser and would teach her sons how to do hairdressing so they could do her hair for her. Brought up in this manner, Parvin developed a calm personality and a disposition to listen to understand and appreciate how things work. Even in relationships, he first aims to understand before taking action. He learned from his parents that there is a way of doing things, to talk to people and treat them with consideration. Later, Parvin picked up a small part-time job to ease the burden on his parents’ expenses and to pursue his studies, as he knew that education would be the key to a better future.

After completing college, Parvin joined the university and coincidentally travelled by the same bus as Janeesha, and they stopped at the same destination without knowing each other. One day, Janeesha noticed Parvin on Facebook and remembered him as the guy she occasionally saw at the bus stop. She sent him a friend request, but he didn't notice it. However, this made Janeesha pay more attention to him at the bus stop. She began to notice his simplicity and innocence. He never showed anger or frustration, and he was always courteous and respectful to everyone, despite the hustle and bustle of people waiting for the bus. To Janeesha, it felt like her eyes were opening to something beautiful that had been there in front of her all along. Janeesha wondered if Parvin had someone in his life since he was always alone.

On December 31, 2016, as Janeesha sent New Year greetings to her friends and contacts, she decided to send her wishes to Parvin as well. This time, he finally saw her message and replied to her. They started chatting and enjoyed the conversation. They found they had many things in common: they lived in the same neighbourhood, attended the same educational institution, travelled on the same bus, shared similar interests, and even their mothers had the same profession. At the end of their conversation, Janeesha listened to her gut feeling and proposed to Parvin that they meet. For Parvin, it was the first time a woman had come forward to ask him out, and it was a completely new feeling for him. They met up on the 6th of January 2017, took the bus and travelled to Reduit like they had been doing every morning for 3 years, except that this time, they did it together. They sat for a chat and instantly felt a connection. Janeesha was initially nervous about meeting a guy she knew only through Facebook, but the respect Parvin showed towards her put her at ease, and the way he looked at her made her feel special. From then on, they would organize their time so they would meet at the bus stop and travel to the university together every morning. After their classes, he would wait for her so she does not have to come home alone.

One day, Janeesha asked Parvin to accompany her to a prayer session where she would be singing. Parvin was not particularly spiritual, but his parents had always been religious. Parvin's father woke up early every morning to start cleaning before performing his prayer rituals, and Parvin's mother used to sing during prayer sessions when he was a kid. On that day, when Parvin accompanied Janeesha to the gathering, she unknowingly chose to sing the exact same religious song that Parvin's mother used to sing during kirtan and bhajan every Friday. Parvin had a vision of seeing his own mother singing when he was a child, and it evoked strong emotions within him. It was at that moment that Parvin knew that Janeesha was the right one for him.

After that, Janeesha and Parvin started meeting regularly. One day when Janeesha was taking out her laptop, a Hindi movie song called "Humdard" started playing. She teasingly invited Parvin to join her for a dance. Parvin, being shy, is not used to the spontaneous expression of his feelings. Yet, at that moment, he allowed Janeesha to lead him outside his comfort zone, and they had their first dance together. As they danced, Parvin couldn't think of anything else but the way Janeesha made him feel. Even though he doesn't understand Hindi, he felt deeply connected to the song and to Janeesha, and it brought tears to his eyes. That moment proved to be magical for Janeesha as well. The words of the song that spoke about having someone by your side to share your pain resonated strongly with her. She was like a flower that had grown in its own unique environment and climate, and she knew that she deeply needed someone to accept her, appreciate her, and be there for her. It was clear for her that the someone could be nobody else but Parvin.

Some time later, that same year, Parvin, who loves playing football, had a friendly match and asked Janeesha to accompany him and cheer for his team. During the match, Parvin had to remove his glasses and could not see clearly as he is shortsighted. Throughout the game, he kept turning towards Janeesha to make funny gestures at her while she desperately tried to tell him that his parents were there and were witnessing it all. It was through this funny situation that Parvin's parents came to know on that day that their son had someone special in his life.
Later, as Janeesha pursued her Bachelor in Education at MIE and Parvin completed his computer studies at UOM, the couple didn't get to meet frequently, but they were still there for each other. Every day, when Parvin returned home tired, Janeesha would get in touch motivate him and push him beyond his limits. He eventually graduated and secured a job as a software engineer, while she got her first job as a biology teacher. After starting with very little, they were finally able to start drawing the outline of a future life together. Their financial situation improved, and they were able to treat their families and each other in ways they never had before.

Parvin and Janeesha are both sensible and empathetic in nature, enabling them to navigate the ups and downs of their relationship with maturity and humour. Janeesha believes in expressing her love through acts of gratitude, demonstrating that when a woman feels loved and appreciated, she naturally takes the initiative and showers her love on those who matter to her. In 2021, Parvin surprised Janeesha by planning their engagement with the help of her parents and brother. This made Janeesha feel that she, in turn, wanted to do something to make Parvin feel special in gratitude for the love that he had brought to her life. On Parvin's birthday, she planned a wedding proposal for him on top of Peter Both Mountain. She organized everything down to the smallest detail and succeeded in making it the most romantic day in Parvin's life.

Janeesha and Parvin are getting married in July 2023, and the two lovebirds who grew up one street apart will finally get to start building their love nest together.