Deepavali came a week earlier for the nondescript Thulasendrapuram in Tiruvarur district of Tamil Nadu on Sunday as residents of the village went into raptures celebrating the victory of Kamala Harris as the next Vice-President of the United States . A festive atmosphere permeated this ancestral village of Ms. Harris as residents of Thulasendrapuram burst crackers and distributed sweets as the news was officially declared.
Carrying portraits of Ms. Harris, residents cheered and displayed victory symbols at public places, unable to hide their excitement and sense of happiness over her elevation. Villagers woke up early in the day and drew colourful ‘kolams’ with captions in front of their homes hailing the victory of Ms. Harris. “Congratulations Kamala Harris - The Pride of Our Village” read a caption drawn along with a colourful ‘kolam’ in front of one of the houses at Thulasendrapuram.
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“The residents went euphoric over the victory of Ms. Kamala and the celebrations at the village were spontaneous,” says S.V. Ramanan, the ‘dharmakartha’ of the Sri Dharma Sastha Temple at Thulasendrapuram. It was on the election day a few days ago that the villagers of Thulasendrapuram and Painganadu lined up at the shrine and fervently prayed for the victory of Ms. Harris.
The joy of villagers of Thulasendrapuram and Painganadu certainly cannot be explained in words as they went into raptures bursting crackers and distributing sweets on this momentous occasion, says J. Sudhakar, a resident of Painganadu and also the president of Green City Rotary Club, Mannargudi.
“From the time the name of Kamala Harris was announced as the VP candidate, celebrations began at Thulasendrapuram which was decked with her portraits at vantage spots. The celebrations reached the peak on Saturday night and on Sunday morning after news flashed that Ms. Kamala was elected,” says Mr. Sudhakar.
“There is happiness in every household at Thulasendrapuram on Ms. Kamala's victory as every family feels that that one among them had come to occupy the top most post in the United States,” says Mr. Sudhakar, adding that the celebrations went for the whole day.
Special pujas were performed on Sunday at the Sri Dharma Sastha Temple by the villagers to celebrate the victory of Ms. Kamala and thanking the deity for answering their prayers. Her victory is not only a great moment for Thulasendrapuram but also for Tamil Nadu and the entire country, says Mr. Sudhakar.
