Why folks on this distant village say Kamala Harris 'makes us proud'

Key Factors

Some residents of a distant village in India’s south say they’re ‘praying’ for a Kamala Harris presidential victory due to her grandparents’ connection to the realm.
SBS Tamil spoke to many, together with a temple priest, who say Harris has put them on a world map.
However some query her hyperlinks, saying her grandfather left the village for Chennai 70 years in the past.

Folks celebrated within the streets with fireworks and homes had been adorned in vibrant colors within the tiny village of Thulasendrapuram when the outcomes of the 2020 US presidential election had been introduced.

Kamala Harris assumed the place of US Vice President, the primary African-American and Asian-American to carry that workplace.

4 years on, villagers have been carefully observing the presidential race following Joe Biden’s withdrawal, with Harris set to contest for the highest job reverse former president Donald Trump, on November 5.

“This can be a very small village. The explanation why it’s world well-known now could be due to Kamala Harris. We’re praying every single day that she ought to grow to be the President of America,” resident Kannan Sundaram stated.

One other resident, Krishnamurthy Narayanaswamy, stated: “We can’t assume that China, Pakistan, Bangladesh and even Sri Lanka to be pleasant nations. But when this woman turns into the president of America, then we are able to ensure that America will grow to be extra pleasant with India.”

Thulasendrapuram within the Tiruvarur district, situated 300km south of Chennai (previously Madras), is the place Harris’s maternal grandparents — Painganadu Venkataraman (PV) Gopalan and Rajam Gopalan — had been from.

Kamala Harris’s ancestral house is Thulasendrapuram village, which is 300km south of Chennai, in India’s Tamil Nadu.

The village is dwelling to 350 folks and options 5 temples (Sri Santana Mariamman Kovil, Sri Sevaga Perumal Kovil, Sri Dharma Sastra, Sri Rama Ganapathy, and Sri Vallabha Mahaganapathi) and a lake (Thamarai Kulam).

In 2014, Harris made a monetary contribution in direction of renovations of the Sri Dharma Sastra temple, through her aunt, Sarala.

Her donation of 5,000 rupees (about $90) is commemorated on a plaque on the temple. SBS Tamil visited the village and spoke with the temple’s priest, Natarajan Mariyappan.

After their mom’s passing, Kamala and Maya visited Chennai to immerse her ashes within the sea, following Hindu traditions.

“Kamala Harris is a progeny of our village. She makes us all proud,” Mariyappan stated.

Life In Kamala Harris' Ancestral Village

A taxi driver reads names of donors within the Sri Dharma Sastra temple in Thulasendrapuram, India. Credit score: Abhishek Chinnappa/Getty Photos

“About 70 years in the past, a gentleman by the identify of PV Gopalan lived within the village along with his three youngsters — Shyamala, Sarala, and Balachandran. He later moved to town of Madras (now Chennai). Shyamala is Kamala Harris’s mom,” Mariyappan stated.

Harris’s maternal uncle, Gopalan Balachandran, is a tutorial based mostly in Delhi and has additionally labored as a advisor on the Institute of Defence Research and Evaluation (IDSA).

In an earlier interview with SBS Tamil, Balachandran stated his father, PV Gopalan, labored to rehabilitate refugees from East Pakistan in India and later served as an adviser to the Zambian president whereas residing in Lusaka, and his mom was engaged in social work.

PV’s eldest daughter, Shyamala Gopalan, was born and raised in Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu.

On the age of 19, Shyamala was accepted right into a grasp’s program on the College of California, Berkeley. It was there that she met Harris’s father, Donald Harris, an economist from Jamaica.

A poster of US presidential hopeful, Kamala Harris, in her ancestral village Thulasendrapuram within the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Supply: AFP / IDREES MOHAMMED/AFP through Getty Photos

The 2 overseas graduate college students married in 1963 and had two daughters, Kamala and Maya, earlier than divorcing in 1971. Shyamala, a most cancers researcher and civil rights activist in California, raised her two daughters as a single mom.

In line with Balachandran, and as recounted by the temple clergymen, Harris stays deeply related to her Indian roots, each via her upbringing and visits to Chennai.

A lady walks previous a poster of US Vice President Kamala Harris in her ancestral village of Thulasendrapuram within the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Supply: AFP / IDREES MOHAMMED/AFP through Getty Photos

In 2020, throughout a digital marketing campaign occasion commemorating India’s Independence Day, Harris spoke fondly of her mom’s love for good idli (fermented rice and lentil truffles).

“She wished us to know the place she got here from and our ancestral roots. And naturally, she all the time wished to instil in us a love for good idli,” Harris joked.

She additionally reminisced about strolling alongside the seashores in Chennai together with her grandfather and listening to his tales about his involvement in India’s freedom wrestle.

Although Harris grew up within the US, her household maintained sturdy ties with India, a connection she proudly acknowledged. “India is an important a part of my life,” she stated throughout a state go to by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September 2021.

SBS Tamil spoke to villagers who expressed hope that, if elected president, Harris would additional strengthen the connection between the 2 nations.

Many corners of the village show banners celebrating Harris, with one villager commenting that if they may vote for her, they might.

Nevertheless, Narayanaswamy shared a unique perspective, telling SBS Tamil that the village has little connection to Harris. He famous that her grandfather left the village over 70 years in the past and settled in Chennai.