I am yet to narrate the “how I met your father” story to my young kids, but I look forward to it. Ours was an unusual meeting and, in a world dominated by talk of AI, a nice reminder of human connection.

In 2008, yellow minivans, operated by a company called Fancy Bus – although not fancy in any way – would ferry office-goers across different parts of Dubai. I met Karthik on one such cramped, slightly smelly vehicle that did the run between Bur Dubai and Dubai Media City.

A Tamilian like me, he was living on his own in Dubai. What started as requests to hold the bus if I was running a few minutes late, developed into longer conversations during bumpy rides.

We discovered shared interests such as music and photography, our friendship progressed, and after we both relocated to India, we got married in 2011.

But my tryst with Dubai’s transport system did not end there. After our wedding, Karthik was offered a job in Dubai we returned to the UAE, and I was back on the job market. But, despite job hunting extensively and reaching out to old contacts, I got nowhere.

About a month in, I was travelling on the Dubai Metro, when I overheard the person next to me, who was on the phone, give out her email address, which ended with the name of a big publishing company in Dubai. After she hung up, I first apologised for eavesdropping, then told her I was looking for a job as a business journalist.

Serendipity is real, and a small conversation can lead to unexpected endings. Victor Besa / The National

She was super-kind and, despite having joined the company only a week prior, she passed on the details of the relevant editor. I thanked her, reached out to them and got a job with the publication – where I spent 10 years.

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