Kamala Harris’ ancestral village in India hopes for her win in presidential poll, subsequent visit as US prez

Thulasenthirapuram, a village in Tamil Nadu's Tiruvarur district shot to fame in the year 2020, as it was traced to be the village from where then to-be US Vice President Kamala Harris' maternal family hailed. The town is back in the limelight again and has put up a billboard wishing Harris, who is now in the race for the most powerful job in the world — that of the US President.

If all goes well for her and the Democrats, Kamala would be the first woman to hold the US presidential office, and the second person of colour to do so, after Barack Obama.

The village folk have already begun their prayers for Harris, at the 'Dharma Sastha - Iyyanar' temple, which is said to be the family deity whom Harris' India-based ancestors have been worshipping.

The names of Kamala Harris and that of her maternal grandfather Gopalan Iyer feature on the temple's list of donors. Kamala Harris' name features on the list, because her Chennai-based aunt, Dr Sarala Gopalan had donated on her behalf for an annual temple ritual.

Kamala's extended family visits the temple on certain festive occasions. Kamala's aunt, Dr. Sarala Gopalan, had confirmed to WION thatshe once broke 108 coconuts as a ritualistic offering, when Kamala faced a challenging time in US politics.

This week, a massive billboard with a large picture of a cheerful and smiling Kamala Harris, was placed right beside the temple gate. In big bold lettering in Tamil, it reads "we wish for your victory" and hails Indo-American Kamala as a "daughter born as a result of penance."

The billboard also refers to her as a "daughter of this land".

During her 2020 campaign, Kamala Harris had referred to her Indian roots, and her visits to her grandfather's home in Chennai city, her walks on the city's Besant Nagar beach. Kamala's grandfather, PV Gopalan, an Indian civil servant, had lived in the upscale Besant Nagar locality of Chennai, then known as Madras.

Interestingly, Harris also used the Tamil word "Chitthi" (aunt), and created a buzz amid Indians on social media.

While a substantial portion of the billboard at the Thulasenthirapuram temple is occupied by the picture of Harris and the words of praise for her, there's also a picture of a couple on the billboard. The pictures are of Mr. Suthakar andMrs. Arulmozhi Suthakar, who are members and lower-level functionaries of Tamil Nadu's ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party.

The DMK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin had written to Kamala Harris in 2020, after she was declared the VP-elect. Then the opposition leader of Tamil Nadu, Stalin had shared a handwritten letter to Kamala Harris, in Tamil.

Kamala Harris' maternal family hails from the minority Tamil Brahmin community. Interestingly, the DMK and their ideological mentors are anti-Brahmin, supposedly rationalist political parties.

Wishing and greeting her with ''Vanakkam(Hello),'' MK Stalin had shared on social media that it was a matter of pride for the state's people that America's first woman Vice-President has a link to Tamil Nadu, as her mother hailed from the state.

He had said he chose to write in Tamil since it would bring more happiness to her, as Tamil is the mother tongue of Harris' motherDr. Shymala Gopalan Harris. It is not known whether Stalin ever got a revert from the American vice president.

As for Suthakar, the DMK functionary from Thulasenthirapuram, the billboard, the celebrations and the temple rituals are their way of showering their best wishes on their "daughter of the land", Kamala Harris.

Speaking to WION, he claimed that the billboard was put up based on the wishes of the villagers. On Tuesday (July 23), they conducted a puja in the temple and prayed for Kamala Harris, while also distributing sweets to the devotees.

He addedthat this practice would continue during the routine puja in the temple. Suthakar is a businessman who holds agricultural lands and undertakes government contracts to build roads and buildings.

Suthakar recalled how the village had celebrated Harris' 2020 win as an early Diwali, by sharing sweets and bursting firecrackers.

"We will do more and can spend to the tune of lakhs of rupees, if she is elected US president," he tells WION.

He sincerely hopes that Harris would visit their town. Suthakar hopes that India-US ties would prosper under a possible Harris' presidency.

He adds that his leader, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin should meet her and bring more investments, jobs, and industries. MK Stalin is expected to visit the US in the month of August. It is not known whether he would be seeking a meeting with Kamala Harris.

Kamala'smaternal roots are in India, while her paternal roots trace back to Jamaica. However, as is evident from her public life, Harris has predominantly projected herself as an African-American or a Black woman.

While Harris had made occasional references to her Indian roots, they were only in lighter vein, when speaking of her formative years. Even when it comes to Harris' policy portfolio, there has been no significant focus on India, save for a customary meeting with Prime Minister Modi when he visited the US.

Few members of Harris' maternal family still live in India. This includes Kamala's maternal uncle Balachandran and her aunt Dr. Sarala Gopalan, both of whom are highly accomplished individuals in their respective fields of work.

As for her India visits,Harris has not visited the south Asian country in the last decade and her widely known visits are the few she made during her childhood, which she had also mentioned in campaign speeches. But even those visits are known to have been to Chennai and not the ancestral village of Thulasenthirapuram.

"She last visited us (in India), when her mother died (in 2009)... when her mother Shyamala died, the ashes were brought to India...," Kamala Harris' aunt Shyamala Gopalan had told WION.

This is part of a Hindu ritual of scattering the ashes of mortal remains in the ocean.

Recalling Kamala's upbringing in the US, Dr Sarala had mentioned that Shyamala Harris was a strict mother who taught the daughters values, "told her what to do and to fight for everything."