Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris who believes ‘everything is at stake’ in the American presidential election has strong support from her ancestral hamlet in a southern corner of Tamil Nadu.
On Tuesday morning people from Harris’ maternal grandfather’s village in Tiruvarur district performed a special prayer for her and erected banners with her photos. The authorities of Dharmasastha Temple and local leaders also offered as annadhanam (free food for the poor) idli-sambhar.
Senator Harris had said that idli-sambhar is her favorite south Indian dish which she relished during her childhood visits to Chennai with her mother Shyamala Gopalan who was born in the city. Harris particularly struck a chord with her roots when she called out to her ‘chithis’ (referring to a parent’s younger sister in Tamil) during her speech in August at the Democratic National Convention.
The village has been celebrating by conducting poojas and erecting flex banners ever since Joe Biden announced Harris as his running mate. “We want her to win. Her achievements are a pride for India and particularly our village,” said Arulmozhi Sudhakar, a local village head of Thulasendhirapuram, Painganadu in Tiruvarur district. Harris’ grandfather PV Gopalan was born in this village and her family has been offering donations to the temple.
“In 2014, her mother Shyamala donated to the temple in the name of Kamala Harris so villagers knew of her,” said Sudhakar.