I'LL BE THERE FOR YOU

Bharti Gehani and Honey Lulla run India’s first and only wheelchair-friendly salon in Mumbai. Friends since college, the two have been with each other through crests and troughs of life. Anindita Ghosh chats with them

- Anindita Ghosh

Honey Lulla still remembers her first impression of Bharti Gehani. “She was skinny and rode into college on a motorbike double her size, looking every bit the boss lady that she is, and I thought she was so cool,” says Lulla, 38, with a laugh. The two met in junior college in Mumbai in 1998, and hit it off instantly.

Gehani, 37, terms Lulla as the more driven one of the two. “Back in college, she would take the trouble to prepare notes and coach me.

I remember how she would grill me after the exam like an over-anxious mom, and I would giggle and say that I hadn’t written anything because I didn’t feel like it. You just had to see her apoplectic face!” she smiles. As years passed, their friendship only grew stronger, and today, 21 years later, they continue to be inseparable. “People often ask how we have remained each other’s bedrock for over two decades, as if it’s unusual. The way we see it, giving up on each other was never an option. We are still the same people we were back in college, and our friendship has become even stronger,” says Lulla.

The going got tough when the duo was faced with an unforeseen tragedy in April 2008, when they were partying with friends at a nightclub to celebrate Gehani’s engagement. “The party was just getting started when Bharti received a call, but due to limited connectivity, went out to receive it. A while later, the manager came rushing to tell us that Bharti had fallen from a flight of stairs,” recalls Lulla.