Our Story: A Broadway Tale

They met in the most modern way possible: by swiping right on a dating app. They never forget how they met each other. Their first date was actually cancelled by cough … Varad … cough. Varad had caught a cold and didn’t want Arpita to get sick. Mind you this was 2020, so one can kind of guess what he had caught. Despite still feeling under the weather, he was determined not to cancel on her this time.

Their story begins January 2nd, 2020. Earlier in the day, Varad loaded up on various cough and cold medications. Determined to make up for cancelling the first time around, Varad arrived on time at the Grand Central Market in Los Angeles. In what Varad thought was a petty move, his future-wife-to-be decided to arrive 1.5 hours later. He later understood that this was not some sort of a petty move, but rather a common theme in their relationship. He was happy to learn that he is not the only one who changes his outfits 5 times before heading out the door. The date started off … well … not as planned. He offered her an ice-cold beer in 45 degrees. She rejected the beer and told him she doesn’t drink beer nor does she drink on a first date. Regardless of her first date politics, Varad enjoyed his beer and after a slight buzz divulged his political views to which Arpi replied, “Makes sense, you’re from Orange County.”

After sharing some jokes and laughs, they connected through their cultural upbringing, growing up in Southern California, and of course checking their common friends on Instagram. Things became surreal when they noticed that time had flew by (almost 4 hours!!!). It was almost midnight on a Thursday. Towards the end of the evening, Varad walked Arpi safely back to her car and they shared their first kiss on Broadway.