THULASENDRAPURAM, India (AP) – A tiny, green Indian village surrounded by rice paddies was beaming with joy Wednesday hours before her descendant, Kamala Harris, took her oath of office and became the vice president of the United States.
Harris must make history as the first woman, the first black woman and the first person of South Asian descent to occupy the vice presidency.
In the hometown of his maternal grandfather, Thulasendrapuram, about 350 kilometers (215 miles) from the coastal city of Chennai, people were elated and preparing for the celebrations.
“We are very proud that an Indian is being elected vice president of America,” said Anukampa Madhavasimhan, a professor.
Harris’ grandfather moved to Chennai, capital of Tamil Nadu state, decades ago. Harris’ late mother was also born in India, before moving to the United States to study at the University of California. She married a Jamaican man, and they called her daughter Kamala, a Sanskrit word for “lotus flower”.
Prior to the inauguration, special prayers for his success were held at the city’s temple, during which the idol of the Hindu deity Ayyanar, a form of Lord Shiva, was washed with milk and decorated with flowers by the priest.
Before the United States elections in November, Thulasendrapuram residents also organized a temple ceremony to wish Harris luck. After their victory, they set off fireworks and distributed sweets and flowers as a religious offering.
Harris posters of the November celebrations still adorn the walls of the village, and many expect her to become president in 2024. President-elect Joe Biden has avoided doubts about whether he will attempt re-election or retire.
“For the next four years, if she supports India, she will be the president,” said G Manikandan, who followed Harris politically and whose store proudly displays a wall calendar with pictures of Biden and Harris.
On Tuesday, an organization that promotes vegetarianism sent food packages to children in the village as gifts to celebrate Harris’s success.