Kamala Harris: The small Indian village that claims her as their own

Thulasendrapuram, a small village about 300 km from the southern Indian city of Chennai (formerly Madras) and 14,000 km from Washington DC, is the hometown of Kamala Harris’ maternal grandparents.

A large banner featuring Harris, 59, now hangs proudly in the village centre.

Special prayers are offered to local gods for her success, Ms Harris and her maternal grandfather’s names are on the village temple’s donor list, and sweets are distributed.

Villagers are closely watching the US presidential election following Joe Biden’s withdrawal and the growing likelihood of Harris being nominated.

“It’s no easy feat to reach the position she has reached in the most powerful country in the world,” said Krishnamurthy, a retired bank manager.

“We are really proud of her. Earlier Indians were ruled by foreigners but now an Indian is leading a strong nation.”

There’s also been a sense of pride among women, especially, who see Harris as one of their own, a symbol of what’s possible for women around the world.

“Everyone knows her, even the children. They call her ‘my sister, my mother,'” said Arulmozhi Sudhakar, the village local government representative.

“We’re glad she hasn’t forgotten her roots and we’re happy for her.”

The excitement and spectacle was reminiscent of when villagers took to the streets with fireworks, posters and calendars to celebrate Harris’ inauguration as vice president.

There was a communal banquet, where hundreds of people enjoyed traditional South Indian dishes such as sambar and idli, some of Harris’ favourite foods, according to one of his relatives.

Harris is the daughter of breast cancer researcher Shyamala Gopalan, who is from the southern state of Tamil Nadu and immigrated to the United States in 1958. Gopalan’s parents are from Thulasendrapuram.

“My mother, Shyamala, came to the United States alone from India at age 19. She was a scientist, a civil rights activist, a mother and influencer who made her two daughters proud,” Harris said in a social media post last year.

According to a report in The Hindu, after her mother’s death, Harris travelled to Chennai with her sister Maya to immerse her mother’s ashes in the sea in accordance with Hindu tradition.

Harris comes from a distinguished family: his maternal uncle Gopalan Balachandran was an academic, and his grandfather PV Gopalan was a high-ranking Indian civil servant and refugee resettlement expert.

He also served as an adviser to Zambia’s first president in the 1960s.

“She has been a prominent figure for quite some time now so it’s not a big surprise. This has been expected for years,” said R. Rajaraman, professor emeritus at Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University and a classmate of Harris’ mother.

Prof Rajaraman said he had lost contact with Shyamala but was reunited with her in the mid-1970s when he travelled to the US and met Gopalan at Berkeley.

“Shamala was there. She gave me a cup of tea. Her two children – Kamala and her sister Maya – were there too. They didn’t pay it any attention,” he recalls.

“They were both very enterprising. There was a positive side to her mother that I also see in Kamala.”

In Thulasenlapuram, villagers are eagerly waiting for her candidature to be announced soon.

“Kamala’s chithi (mother’s sister) Sarala is a regular visitor to the temple and in 2014 donated 5,000 rupees ($60, £46) on Kamala Harris’ behalf,” said Natarajan, a priest at the temple.

Natarajan believes their prayers will help Harris win the election.

Villagers say that while they may be thousands of miles away from the United States, they feel connected to her journey, and hope that one day she will visit them or that her name will be mentioned in village speeches.