A huge vinyl banner embossed with a smiling photograph of Vice-President Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party’s likely nominee for the U.S. Presidential race this year, welcomes visitors to Thulasendrapuram, her ancestral village in Tiruvarur district in Tamil Nadu.
Placed at the entrance of Sri Dharma Sastha Temple, the banner wishes her success and reflects the excitement among residents of the ancestral village of Ms. Harris.
Euphoria seems to have already set in at Thulasendrapuram, which celebrated in style the victory of Ms. Harris when she became the Vice President in 2020.
Villagers including children hold placards of Kamala Harris, at a temple in her ancestral village of Thulasendrapuram , Tamil Nadu. File photo | Photo Credit: The Hindu
“No one from the family of Kamala Harris resides at Thulasendrapuram. Her maternal grandfather P.V. Gopalan left the village several decades ago. Nevertheless, Kamala Harris is a household name not only at Thulasendrapuram but in the nearby villages after she became the Vice President of the global superpower,” said 61-year-old M. Natarajan, the priest of the Sri Dharma Sastha temple.
Mr. Natarajan, who hails from Thulasendrapuram, recalls that Ms. Harris donated to the temple’s kumbhabhishekam (the consecration, post renovation) held in 2014 pointing out to her name inscribed on a stone tablet containing a list of donors in the shrine premises.
“We feel overjoyed that Ms. Harris is one step close to occupying the highest office in the United States of America and her victory will be the greatest moment for Thulasendrapuram and Tamil Nadu”, said J. Suthakar, a resident of Painganadu, the adjacent village.
The village came alive after four years the moment news broke out a couple of days ago that Vice President Kamala Harris was endorsed by President Joe Biden as the Democratic Party nominee. Ms. Harris will still have to be formally proposed for the post of President at the Democratic National Convention.
Special poojas and abhishekams and archana in the name of Ms. Harris was performed to the deity of Sri Dharma Sastha at Thulasendrapuram on Tuesday morning with villagers fervently praying for her victory just as they did four years ago.
A resident hands offerings to a Hindu priest to be used during prayers for Kamala Harris at a temple in Thulasendrapuram in Tamil Nadu, the hometown of Harris’ maternal grandfather. File photo | Photo Credit: AP
“A victory for Kamala Harris would strengthen ties between India and USA”, says G. Manikandan, who runs a grocery shop in the village. “We want Kamala Harris to emerge victorious and visit Thulasendrapuram”, said Kala, another resident.
“It is the desire of the residents of Thulasendrapuram and Painganadu that a woman of Indian origin and that too from Tiruvarur district in Tamil Nadu should occupy the highest position in the USA, which will be a matter of great pride for all women,” said Arulmozhi Suthakar, the 21st ward councillor of Painganadu.
