THULASENDRAPURAM, India (AP) – A small, lush green Indian village surrounded by rice paddies shone on Wednesday for hours before her descendant, Kamala Harris, takes her oath of office and becomes US vice president.
Harris goes on to make history as the first woman, first woman of color, and the first person of South Asian descent to hold the vice presidency.
In her maternal grandfather’s hometown, Thulasendrapuram, about 350 kilometers (215 miles) from the southern coastal city of Chennai, people were jubilant and getting ready for celebrations.
“We are very proud that an Indian is being elected as the Vice President of America,” said Anukampa Madhavasimhan, a teacher.
Harris’ grandfather moved to Chennai, the capital of the state of Tamil Nadu, decades ago. Harris’ late mother was also born in India before moving to the US to study at the University of California. She married a Jamaican man and they named their daughter Kamala, a Sanskrit word for ‘lotus flower’.
Prior to the inauguration, special prayers for her success were held in the city temple, where the idol of the Hindu god Ayyanar, a form of Lord Shiva, was washed with milk by the priest and decorated with flowers.
Ahead of the US election in November, villagers in Thulasendrapuram also held a ceremony in the temple to wish Harris the best of luck. After she won, they set off fireworks and distributed sweets and flowers as a religious offering.
Posters of Harris of the November celebrations still adorn walls in the village, and many hope that she will run for president in 2024. President-elect Joe Biden has sidestepped questions as to whether he will seek reelection or retire.
“If she supports India, she will be president for the next four years,” said G Manikandan, who has followed Harris politics and whose shop proudly displays a wall calendar with photos of Biden and Harris.
On Tuesday, an organization promoting vegetarianism sent food parcels for the village children as gifts to celebrate Harris’s success.