"Make it your mission to surround yourself with people who love you”

We speak to Kainaz Jussawalla, author of Who Wants To Marry Kai Juicewalla?, about self-love and heartbreak in the maximum city

As we get off the rickshaw to meet former flight attendant and now author of two books, Kainaz Jussawalla, at her home in Khar, we can almost taste the salt from the Arabian Sea. But the avid food lover is anything but salty; she eases us into her home with paneer samosas and a cappuccino. “Hi! Please come on in!” she says with a smile that can replace a thousand light bulbs.

Jussawalla’s latest book—Who Wants To Marry Kai Juicewalla?: One Life, Many Loves, Endless (Mis)adventures—is about her quest to find ‘the one’. Her journey with the written word started right out of college when she wrote for Savvy magazine, after a couple of years she caught the travel bug and became a flight attendant, a job she did for over a decade before she quit recently. But she never gave up writing; while crisscrossing across the world, she wrote for Times Of India, Bandra Buzz, and even Playboy magazine. 

When we ask what prompted her to write the book, she breaks eye contact momentarily, to recall the exact moment: It was because of a chance encounter with a stranger at a bar. “To be honest,” she says, with a flash of hurt in her eyes, “it was that song, Are you lonesome tonight? It all started with that.” The song was dedicated to Jussawalla at a cousin’s wedding by the band’s lead singer, whom she describes in the book as Bombay ka Elvis Presley. The dedication was a jibe at her single status, well into her 30s. Recalling what happened next, she says, “I was a bit tipsy and unleashed over a decade of anger at overbearing aunties [who were] obsessed with my weight and the lack of a wedding band…whilst on stage, mike in hand.”

The “Parsi by birth, crazy by right” writer revisits it vividly in the book, describing what she said: ‘Let’s start with you, Vamp… hmm Aunty Veera. Didn’t you just say something about my wrinkles that looked like chains? Makes me wonder, do they remind you of the gold chains you stole from your sister-in-law’s locker to pay for your husband’s gambling addiction?’

While the outrage was cathartic, Jussawalla dreaded going home after the reception. “Instead, I went to a bar for another drink. It was there that I met a stranger who told me to pen down my thoughts. He belonged to the OTT industry and wanted to pitch it as a script. Although the plan fell through, I had this script, and a friend told me to transform it into a book. I thought that was a good idea,” she says, smiling playfully.

Her other book, Coffee Days, Champagne Nights and Other Secrets,  is based on a woman leading a dual life, but this book feels more like the affable yet openly vulnerable woman before us. It takes us through crushing body-shaming moments that she admits took a while to overcome and a sweet yet hauntingly painful love interest that will remind you of the one that got away, although he is still very much present in her life. “Don’t ask,” she says, when we ask what happened.

One of the most lovable characters in this endearing read is Granny B, who fed young Jussawalla condensed milk treats and nourished her confidence as she battled a parade of bullies and heartaches. “She passed back in 2015 at the ripe old age of 103,” Jussawalla informs us, and advises, “For those who don’t have a grandmother or family like hers, find a friend and hold on to them for dear life. Make it your mission to surround yourself with people who love you.”

So what then about marriage? “I have someone in my life. I enjoy our time together but I don’t think I am meant for marriage. I am loving this time where I can do my own thing and have some companionship.” 

Released earlier this year, the book, Jussawalla remarks, has brought her surprising reactions from men, “Men in their mid 20s, or even younger, have told me that they now see them in a completely new light, or understand their sister better. Who would have thought?” 

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