Cheers from Kamala Harris’ ancestral village

At her ancestral village children clutched posters of Harris as people gathered at the Dharmasastha Aiyanar temple, which has been conducting special prayers since US President-elect Joe Biden announced Harris as his running mate in August.

Residents of Thulasendrapuram village in Tiruvarur district of Tamil Nadu — where PV Gopalan, the maternal grandfather of the new United States Vice President-elect was born in 1911 — burst firecrackers, distributed sweets and drew colourful rangoli even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Kamala Harris over Twitter declaring it a proud moment for Indian-Americans.

Harris, who visited the village when she was five, has often recalled walks with her maternal grandfather on Chennai’s beaches during annual trips from the US. (REUTERS)

“Heartiest congratulations @KamalaHarris! Your success is pathbreaking, and a matter of immense pride not just for your chittis, but also for all Indian-Americans. I am confident that the vibrant India-US ties will get even stronger with your support and leadership” Modi tweeted on November 8.

Harris, born to an Indian mother, Shyamala Gopalan and a Jamaican father, Donald Harris — both of whom immigrated to the United States to study — made history by becoming the first woman, the first Black person, the person of South Asian descent and the first person born to immigrants to win the second-highest U.S. office in the election.

At her ancestral village children clutched posters of Harris as people gathered at the Dharmasastha Aiyanar temple, which has been conducting special prayers since US President-elect Joe Biden announced Harris as his running mate in August.

“Her win also motivates the boys and girls in our village,” says Arulmozhi Sudhakar, a local village head. “Now I’m able to show my 11-year-old son how much he can achieve.” Chief minister Edappadi Palaniswami tweeted that Harris’ victory made Tamil Nadu proud.

Harris, who visited the village when she was five, has often recalled walks with her maternal grandfather on Chennai’s beaches during annual trips from the US.

“She would often take long walks with my father and ask him about governance,” said Harris’ maternal uncle Gopalan Balachandran, who lives in New Delhi.

His father served as civil servant for 40 years. “He started off as a clerk and retired as a joint-secretary. Kamala would quiz him about why’s and the how’s of government all the time. She was very inquisitive and never hesitated to ask questions,” Balachandran said.

“I’m sure she imagined that she could reach the position of vice-president, that is why she contested. We have to wait and see how see works during her tenure. Who knows, she may run for the presidency,” Balachandran said.