Age33
AliasDetective Subram
"Van" Subram
AppearanceVanya is Indian in appearance. She has dark brown hair and brown eyes. Her skin is a light brown color. Due to her genetics Vanya only barely tops five foot five. Despite her short stature she is physically fit. Vanya has no piercings or tattoos. She typically wears her long hair in a bun or a braid to keep it at regulation's specifications.
Skills/AbilitiesCops skills (8 years with GCPD; 3 years as a Detective)
MA in CJ
Multilingual:
Hindi,
Bengali, and
EnglishCan speak but not proficient in Indian English and Indian French
WeaknessesChinese Food (Spicier the better)
Water (She's not the best swimmer out there)
Her family
HistoryVanya was born in India to Chandni (mother) and Hansh (father). She was born in a small town in West Bengalnear the boarder with Bangladesh. Her mother's parents were from Bangladesh and her father's parents were from India. Because of that she was raised with a little mishmash of cultures. Vanya was the third child. She had one older sister (Drishya) and one older brother (Vaibhav). She also has a younger brother (Yakshit).
When Vanya was fifteen her parents moved to Gotham. The young girl was upset about the move. For a start the teen had to leave all her friends behind. Another reason was that she had heard nothing good about America. The fear of the unknown was also there. Yet despite not only Vanya's and the rest of her siblings' protests her parents moved anyways. Tata Steel had made it clear that the future job security relied on this move.
Gotham was a major culture shock for Vanya. Her parents were both traditionalists. Being exposed to an inner-city school full of Christians? Vanya wanted nothing more than to return back to India. The girls didn't cover their hair. Sure Vanya wasn't Islamic, but she still wore a shayla to keep her long black hair covered a lot of the time. It wasn't required but most girls did it anyways. A lot of the girls wore very little clothes. Nothing like Vanya was used to and the vast majority of the clothing was very drab. There were no bright colors. Instead most girls favored blacks or other dark colors. Everyone wore the same dark bluejeans.
Apart from the clothes was the language. Vanya thought she knew English. She was wrong. Everyone spoke so fast and it sounded as if they were garbling mothballs. She couldn't understand any of her teachers and most people didn't speak slower for her. They'd just roll her eyes and laugh at her.
As time progressed and the Subram family acclimatized, Vanya began to enjoy western culture. She still enjoyed her loud and bright clothing. She still wore scarfs, but she no longer felt restrained by her family's culture. Vanya enjoyed the fact that women in Gotham didn't have to play second fiddle to men. She could join sports! Like Lacrosse and even football (or soccer as Americans called it). Vanya's parents at first indulged her. But as she spent more time doing sports and hanging out with friends after school her parents began to impose limitations up[on her. Her mother yelled and cried more than once at Vanya for forgetting her culture, who she was and her duty.
Those were some of the best and worst times of Vanya's life. During her senior year of High School Vanya told her parents that she'd go to college instead of being matched with another good Indian man. Her parents didn't take that well. Her parents raged at her. Why couldn't she be like Drishya who married and had two children? Why did Vayna have to be so difficult?
Vanya ran away for the first time that year. She stayed at the home of a friend for a few days until her parents came to get her. Eventually they compromised that Vanya would go to every matchmaking event her parents set up. And if she hadn't settled down by the time she was eighteen they'd discuss college again.
Vanya suffered through the arranged dates for a few months until she received a full ride and acceptance to Gotham University. She had written a letter to the board about their situation and they had taken her even though her parents had more than enough money to disqualify her for the scholarship. Upon receiving her acceptance letter she announced that she was going to college and if they wanted to disown her, that was their choice.
Vanya never anticipated that they would. Being disowned hurt. She honestly hadn't thought her parents would go that far. But she couldn't look back. She couldn't afford to unless she wanted all her efforts to be wasted. Despite her love for them she severed ties and moved into a dorm on campus.
When Vanya was twenty four she graduated with a BA in Criminal Justice. She took a few months off to visit family back in India. When she returned to Gotham she joined the Gotham City Police Department. The PD was thrilled to have her mainly because of her gender and ethnicity. By the time she was thirty she made detective. Just a few months ago Vanya and her last partner, Joss, ended up parting ways. Mainly Joss took his retirement leaving Vanya to be paired up with Hope Sandoval Another Detective on the force. The two are still figuring out their working relationship.