Double
sevens in nineteen eighty-two is where it all started for this one, and
she's
been nothing but a goody two-shoes
until she set her eyes on the troublemaker we all know and love.
But let's start at the beginning. Though
born
in NYC, she's far from being a Yankee. She grew up
being
chased by her little sister Shivani (armed and
dangerous with a spoon and a plastic purple car) in the hot
Southern Virginia sun. Then little Shalini joined the family in
North Carolina, and she could always be found on Shruti's
hip,
drooling everywheres, with a spot of ice cream on her
forehead
(or big toe, depending on the day). Her unsuspecting parents,
Kalpana and Laxmikant, were onlookers to all the madness. The
scenery stayed the same from place to place, but on her first day
at UNC Chapel Hill - who greets her in the elevator but
Vinay?
That handsome young lad from high school, oh yes, we
remember him! After a few rounds of physics
tutoring one
way and
math tutoring the other way, they finally were honest about why they
always wound up together...
.
.
Vinay Tannan
His
story begins in Temple, Texas on India's very own Independence Day,
only 34 years later. That's Vinay alright, always
late...
but we digress. He was born to a very excited Brij and
Subhash
Tannan in the heat of the Texas sun. Eight years in Cowboy
Country, where Vinay has fond memories of being pile-driven
(slammed head first into the carpet) by his older brother
Sonny,
watching bad Indian movies with his mother, and hanging onto his
father's shoulders on the old Honda motorcycle as they roared
down the neighborhood streets. Next was Fresno, California
where
he instantly took to street hockey and words like "dude" and
"radical". The Tannan clan has never been one to
stay put for
long periods of time, and Vinay eventually found himself at high
school in North Carolina. It was here that he met
his
bride-to-be, the one and only, Shruti! Their relationship
blossomed through college and graduate school, and after
seven
amazing years together...
The Dealmaker - Love
in Labor Room One
Blood, amnion and sweat are among the bodily fluids she sported from her scrubs down to her shoes that fateful night. After an adrenalin-charged evening of beautiful deliveries and emergent operations, her upper level rushed her off to Room One saying "Quick, they need you to deliver a baby!" She should have known something was awry at that very moment, because honestly, when does anyone ever need a medical student? She opened the door. Not only was the bed empty, but from around the corner he came and dropped to a knee, armed and dangerous with flowers, a pimp suit and some words that she never heard over the heaps upon heaps of tears. And that's how the deal was made.
