Our Indian Partners, One Indian at a Time

Chetan Jani

Charismatic and funny!  Those are the two words I would use to describe Chetan.  He is never at a loss for words.  Talks very fast, so you better be listening if you want to hear what he has to say!  I believe the reason he talks so fast is because he is so excited about life.  He recently won the Brand Ambassador Award.  Can you see how very excited and proud he was?!

Chetan has worked in the Ahmedabad office for almost 10 years.  He started out in applications and has had 6 promotions.  He loves the challenges of figuring out what is wrong with a machine and fixing it.  No matter how long it takes!  I remember one trip, David went out on a service call with Chetan.  They did not get home from the job until 3 in the morning. They were not leaving until the machine was fixed!  That is dedication!  No wonder Chetan is now the Head of Service in Ahmebdabad.  It was quite a bonding experience and I know David is very proud of Chetan. 

Chetan enjoys watching drama movies and traveling.  His first choice would be to travel to Switzerland!  Second is Hawaii!!! Hmmmm... Two very different places!

Chetan really likes family get togethers where there is lots of good food!  The women all get together and cook.  Chetan's wife, Fauguni and his Mother are here making home made Roti.  Roti is a really delicious Indian bread.  It is used to pick up food, in place of forks or spoons. It really is an art to make the perfect bread.  I tried to make it once and... needless to say, we had to use our forks if we wanted to eat!  Chetan's favorite food is pure vegetarian Indian, but he enjoys Chinese as well.

Another favorite past time of Chetan's is a good game of cricket. 

Chetan has a beautiful wife ( Fauguni ) and two very cute children (Timir and Jhanvi ).  Chetan's marriage was an arranged marriage by his parents in 2002.  His parents went to meet Fauguni's family and then Fauguni's family came to meet his family.  Once every one was happy and thought it was a good match, there was a ring ceremony.  The ring ceremony is very much like an engagement here in the US, except there is an actual ceremony in India.  There is an exchange of rings and then a set period of time to decide if the couple wants to get married.  During this time Chetan would meet with Fauguni, but they never would meet alone.  They always had a chaperon.  The set time for Chetan was 6 months and they decided they wanted to get married.  All of Chetan's friends and family, about 200, traveled by bus to Fauguni's home for the wedding.  The wedding celebration lasted 3 days!!!!  Lots of eating and dancing!

Speaking of dancing!  Chetan loves to dance!  All kinds of dancing!!!  His favorite music is Gazelle.  It is a kind of soft love music.


Chetan's family enjoys celebrating and dressing for Indian Holidays!  Especially Diwali! 

And... Holi!!  Holi is a celebration of spring arriving and winter passing.  It is a day to be happy, forget your problems and throw colored powder at every one you meet!  As you can see, every one at the Pune office was happy and forgetting their problems!!  So, where is Chetan in this picture?

Chetan was born in and has always lived in Ahmedabad (except for a brief period living in Pune).  He lives with all of his family.  His wife, Fauguni, two children, Timir and Jhanvi, Mother, Father, Elder Brother, and his wife and 2 children.  This living arrangement is very common in India and keeps the family very close.

Chetan had to decide on a career for post school.  The decision was Mechanical Engineering.  This suited him very well because he loves art and drawing.  As you can see, he is an amazing Rangoli Artist!  This is an art that I can tell you first hand is not easy!  Getting the sand to flow from your hand, where you want it to go with just the right amount of sand... Nope, not easy!

Chetan's religion is Hindu which consists of 4 castes. Chetan is a Brahmin, the Educator, Teacher, Counselor.  He described it as a Priest in other religions.  The other three castes are: Ksatriyas (landowners, warriors, rulers), Vaishyas (farmers and merchants), and Shudras (craftsmen, servants, laborers).  Sometimes a fifth caste is added. The Dalits, also known as Haijuts, have traditionally been regarded as having such a low status they were not even considered members of the caste system.

One of the things no one knows about Chetan is that he LOVES public speaking.  He enjoys being on stage and entertaining or just speaking about some thing that is special to him.  He finds it exciting to step up and fill in space at events.  Yikes!! I am very happy there are people out there that enjoy that!

Chetan had the opportunity to do one more thing that he really enjoys at the Phillips 50th anniversary celebration.  Kite Flying!!!!  Not your ordinary kite flying mind you, it takes two to fly your kite and the excitement comes when you cut an others string and watch their kite fly away!  Yes, this happy face on Chetan came as he cut the string on Haresh's kite!  Sorry Haresh!  I believe my inexperience was the reason your kite was cut!

Chetan is some one that knows how to make you feel at home.  Even in an office in Ahmedabad.  Thank you Chetan!!