Indian-American entrepreneur and Republican candidate for governor of Ohio,
Vivek Ramaswamy, took to social media to announce the birth of his daughter on Wednesday, February 4.
Vivek shared a family photo from the hospital bed. Alongside it, he wrote, “Apoorva and Vivek are happy to share the news of their daughter’s birth, Savithri.” “Mom and baby are doing well, and the family is deeply thankful for the prayers and kind messages from Ohioans and friends across the country,” he added.
His post soon went viral, with people congratulating him on becoming a father to a daughter. However, many were surprised by the choice of name, given the anti-Indian hate Ramaswamy has been exposed to over the past few months.
Apoorva, a trained physician and assistant professor, has maintained a low profile during her husband’s election campaign. According to reports, the two met at a party in New Haven, Connecticut, in the fall of 2011. At the time, Ramaswamy was a Yale Law School student, while Apoorva was in her first week of medical school at Yale.
Apoorva approached Vivek, finding him the most interesting person at the party, but he initially walked away after she mentioned having met another “Vivek” in medical school. They reconnected later that night, discovering shared interests and learning that they were neighbors in the same apartment building near a vegetarian restaurant.
Their first date soon followed, a hike up Flattop Mountain in the Rockies during a blizzard. They married on May 31, 2015.
Apoorva and Vivek are now parents to three children. Before Savithri’s birth, the family included two sons, Karthik and Arjun. However, Ramaswamy revealed during a session in Iowa that Apoorva had suffered a miscarriage during her first pregnancy.
Vivek Ramaswamy has not attempted to whitewash his cultural identity. This appears especially significant as his gubernatorial campaign has faced criticism and mockery over his Indian heritage.
Vivek’s eldest son, Karthik, is named after Lord Kartikeya (also known as Murugan or Skanda), the Hindu god of war and the son of Shiva and Parvati. The name loosely translates to “bringer of light” and is also associated with the Hindu lunar month of Kartik (October–November).
The middle child, Arjun, means “bright” and draws its primary significance from Arjuna, the legendary archer and third Pandava brother in the Mahabharata. Savithri, their daughter's name, loosely translates to “relating to the sun,” “radiance,” or “a hymn to the sun.”