US Vice President Kamala Harris’ native village in India’s Tamil Nadu is celebrating her journey as she moves closer to becoming the Democratic nominee in the US presidential race
Thulasendrapuram, a small village in India’s Tamil Nadu, is preparing to celebrate as United States Vice President Kamala Harris moves one step closer to becoming the Democratic nominee and the likely President of the United States.
In a post on X, US President Joe Biden has made his Vice President, Kamala Harris, a strong contender for the Democratic ticket after she pulled out of the presidential race.
As support and endorsements have flooded in for the veteran MP, Thulasendrapuram, her native village on her mother’s side, 12,900 kilometres from Washington DC, has been preparing for this moment ever since, Reuters reported.
Harris’ maternal grandfather was born in Thulasendrapuram, the village she moved to at the age of five. She would walk with her grandfather on the beach in Chennai, only 320 kilometres from the village.
Though she has not visited the village since becoming vice president, the pride and excitement over her political rise remains.
In 2021, when she became vice president, the village celebrated with firecrackers, posters and calendars with her pictures and free chocolates.
The New York Times reported in 2021 that the village held a special ceremony at its temple to pray for Harris and even inscribed her name inside the temple. Many called her the “village’s daughter”.
As her political career moves upward, the celebrations are likely to get even grander, according to villagers.
K. Kaliaperumal, a member of the village committee, told Reuters that the celebrations would be huge if she wins and becomes president, comparing it to India’s recent victory in the Cricket World Cup that sent the country into a wave of joy.
Villagers have been tracking her progress through news and TV shows and hope to see a mention of her if she wins.
“Residents were hoping there would be a visit, a statement or at least a mention of the village, but that did not happen,” said G Manikandan, a shopkeeper in Thulasandrapuram, where about 2,000 people live, Reuters reported.
“When she became vice president, many people hung calendars with her picture outside their homes. Now they are not so prominent. But chances are they will come back again now.”
While villagers may be disappointed they did not get a mention, SV Ramanan, who runs a temple of Harris’ grandfather’s family deity, sympathized, saying his family left Thulasandrapuram in the 1930s.
He said that as an American, Harris might not be aware of the village’s enthusiasm, comparing it to cheering for a horse race where the winning horse “doesn’t understand why you’re screaming and clapping.”