Mr. & M(r)s. Imperfects

Her Childhood

June 6, 1995. Vishakapatnam (Vizag), Andhra Pradesh. Sumati was in her room, crying loudly with labor pains. The old lady next to her was trying to calm her down. "Calm down Sumati. Just try to push."

Vijayakumar was walking back and forth in front of his house. His five-year-old daughter, Ganga, was following him. Vijayakumar's friend, Anandarao, tapped on his shoulder and smiled. "I'm sure you're going to get a son this time, don't worry!" Ganga looked at him furiously and slapped him hard.

"As long as the baby's healthy, I don't care who it is." Ganga clapped, laughed, and jumped up and down. A final scream and a baby's cry was heard. The old lady came out and said hesitantly, "Kumara, you got a girl again! Ganga, you got a new baby sister!"

Vijayakumar asked, "Is she healthy? Like is she the right weight and the right height and stuff?"

"She is fine!"

Vijayakumar rushed into the bedroom and sees the new girl crying next to the mother. "Parvathi. Good right, Ganga?"

"Yeah nanna (dad), Paru's so cute!"

Sumati played around with Parvathi's hair. "Paru."

Parvathi was highly energetic. She played with all the girls and boys in her area, in or near Gajuwaka. Since the age of three, Paru was teased for being dark skinned like her dad's mother, who passed away when Ganga was one year old.

All the praises in the city went to Ganga, who was fair skinned like her parents, and Paru used to get jealous. Ganga looked "beautiful" in a bright colored dress, while Paru didn't look so good in that same dress. During her high school graduation, all cameras were turned off when Parvathi, who always topped the class, read an emotionally driving speech, while Ganga's small and basic speech received all camera attention and the audiences' applause. Paru never got any love proposals, while Ganga rejected the 39 proposals she got.

At last, even Sumati showed more love towards Ganga than Paru. No wonder why Paru was so down-to-earth and Ganga kept her eyes up towards the sky.

Still, Paru had one all-time supporter. Vijayakumar, her father. He supported her every time she wanted to participate in sports. He always supported her ambition of getting into the medical field, although it needed more money than the family could afford, considering that Vijayakumar was owning a business that was not profiting. His support made Paru the genetic counselor she wanted to be, and soon another problem started haunting her.

Marriage.