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Waking up to the news of Kamala Harris’s election as vice president of the United States, people in her Indian grandfather’s hometown lit firecrackers and offered prayers.
The groups gathered Sunday on the street corners of Thulasendrapuram, a town of 350, reading newspapers and chatting about the victory of Joe Biden and Harris before moving to a temple.
One woman wrote in colored powder outside her home: “Congratulations Kamala Harris. Pride of our people. Vanakkam [Greetings] America.”
Most of them had fallen asleep when Biden reached the winning threshold of 270 votes in the electoral college, making Harris the first woman and the first person of South Asian descent to be elected vice president.
“For two or three days we kept our fingers crossed while the result was delayed,” said Kalidas Vamdayar, a resident of the village. “Now is a time of joy for us. We are enjoying it. “
“We will celebrate with firecrackers, distributing Indian sweets to the people and praying in the temple,” said Vamdayar. “We will ask you to come here. He would have heard our voice and could come. “
Tamil Nadu Food Minister R Kamraj led some 100 people at the Dharma Sastha temple for a 20-minute prayer during which the idol of the Hindu deity Ayyanar, a form of Shiva, was washed with milk and adorned with flowers by the priest. He sang hymns after lighting oil lamps, and the villagers bowed their heads respectfully.
“Kamala Harris is the daughter of our people,” said Aulmozhi Sudhakar, a town councilor. “From children to seniors, each of us is looking forward to the day when I am sworn in as Vice President of the United States.”
There was more singing, dancing and firecrackers throughout the day in the town, where clippings and posters wishing Harris a “great success” adorned the walls.
People gathered in groups of 30 or 40 exchanging sweets, delicacies and snacks in different places. They seemed to be celebrating Diwali, the most popular Hindu festival of lights, a week in advance. Young children carrying billboards with photos of Harris ran through town.
Several politicians from nearby districts visited the town with their supporters, met with residents, and visited the temple. Musicians played wind and string instruments with cymbals and drums.
J Sudhakar, who organized the prayers on Election Day, expressed her wish that Harris visit her. As Americans voted, about 50 residents, with folded hands, lined up in the temple that reverberated with the sound of bells, and a Hindu priest gave them sweets and flowers as a religious offering.
Women in the village, which is 215 miles from the southern coastal city of Chennai, used bright colors to write “We wish Kamala Harris to win” on the ground, alongside a thumbs-up sign. The lush green town is the hometown of Harris’s maternal grandfather, who had moved to Chennai, the capital of the state of Tamil Nadu, decades ago.
Inside the temple where people have been conducting special prayers, Harris’s name is carved into a stone that lists public donations made to the temple in 2014, along with that of his grandfather, who gave money decades ago.
Harris’s late mother was also born in India, before moving to the United States at the age of 19 to study at the University of California. She married a Jamaican man and they named their daughter Kamala, which in Sanskrit means “lotus flower.”
