South India Amidst the coconut trees, bungalows and rice sacks of the remote village of U.S. is a strange scene: US Vice President Kamala Harris A collection of large blue posters in the shape of , each of which in the vernacular Tamil language conveys good wishes for the presidential elections in November.
More than a century has passed since the birth of Harris’ grandfather, who was born in Thulasendrapuram, a small town about 300 km from the state capital, Chennai.
Yet remarkably, the Democrat and his family still maintain ties to their hometown, a fact that has given them a village of admirers a world away from Washington, DC.
Outside the village’s 300-year-old temple, dedicated to the Hindu deity Sastha, is a black stone plaque, inscribed with the names of major donors.
A 5,000 rupee (£46.50) note is written next to Kamala Harris, a record of an offering made in her name in 2014, when she was serving as California’s attorney general.
At the Sri Dharma Sastha temple, the hustle and bustle starts at 6.30 am and the shops open before the morning worship. Shiv Kumar, the priest in charge of the morning schedule, remembers that a relative made an offering to the temple on Harris’ behalf.
“Even after their family leaves the village, they make offerings for religious ceremonies at the temple, never abandoning their roots,” says Ann Maheshwari, who runs a grocery shop near the temple. It is a matter of pride for us.’
Kamala Harris’ grandfather PV Gopalan was born in Thulasandrapuram in the early 1900s and moved away from the village, first to Chennai and later to Delhi, to become a civil servant in British-ruled India.
His success for Shyamala Gopalan, mother of Kamala Harris United States Paved the way to move when she was 19 and study biomedical science at UC Berkeley.
There she met her future husband, Donald Harris, an immigrant from Jamaica.
Almost everyone in the village seems to know the Harris family history, even though the house where the story began is no longer there. People here appreciate that the family remembers where they came from, and members of the Harris family who live in India still visit regularly.
Ramalingam, who lives near the temple, told The Independent, ‘His uncle Balachandran from Delhi and his aunt Sarla from Chennai visit this local temple about once a year. This family is still connected to the village.’
A few hundred meters from the temple, down the village’s main road, is a Brahmin neighborhood – caste segregation still a phenomenon in many rural parts of India – where residents say Harris’ grandparents lived. were
The houses here have large thathas or high verandahs, characteristic of the village houses of the wealthy families of the region, and other features such as cement floors and a large tank for storing water in one corner of the house. is also included.
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Near Nakker lives retired banker N. Krishnamurthy, who has become a local authority on all matters relating to the Harrises and their ancestors.
He said, ‘About 80 years ago, Gopal Iyer (Mr. Gopalan) was living here with his wife Rajam. He was living in a house here in this corner at the end of Agar Haram. Now the house is not there. This place is now nothing but wasteland.’
Speaking to The Independent, he answered repeated phone calls from people asking about Harris’ latest election prospects since Biden dropped out of the race for the presidency, leaving him with the Democratic Party. They have become expected candidates.
Krishna Murthy, who has lived in the village for the past 15 years, says that Harris was not well known in the village until it was announced that she was [اگست 2020 میں] A candidate for vice president. This happened when we started gathering information.’
Harris is said to have visited Thulasendrapuram herself at the age of five, and in the interview she reminisced about walking along the Chennai beach with her grandfather.
Since becoming the Vice President, she has neither returned to Tamil Nadu nor visited the whole of India.
However, residents here say there will be a big celebration if she goes one step further and enters the White House.
Shopkeeper Maheshwari points to a calendar with photos of President Biden and Harris on the counter.
She compares it to Harris and his family, saying, ‘Even those who migrate from the village to another place in northern India, they forget their ancestral gods.’
We have been following his journey since I was nominated as Vice President. After that when she won we did a special pooja in the temple and distributed sweets to celebrate her win. If she becomes president this time, we will do it again.’
Some villagers believe a Harris win could strengthen ties between the US and India, though they are realistic about whether the small village 8,000 miles from Washington, D.C., will benefit.
“When he became the vice president, there was a lot of news coverage about our village and then some officials from the US consulate came here to inspect the schools and the reservoirs,” says a resident as she prepares fodder for her cows. . Nothing happened after that.’
“We still think she doesn’t have much to help the village, but we still hope she wins,” she says.
Assuming she is nominated as the Democratic nominee at the party’s convention next month, Harris will face Donald Trump in November’s election, and the Republican has many admirers in India, who are prime ministers in office. We used to think of Narendra Modi.
There are no Trump supporters in Thulasandrapuram, but many residents say they are only interested in the US election because Harris is running.
A village minyan S puts it this way: ‘Trump is an American. But Harris is a woman whose roots are in India and whose ancestry is from our land. If a woman from our land wins the US elections, it will be a source of great pride.’
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2024-07-30 10:55:18
