Kamala Harris' ancestral village celebrates as Democrats near victory

Even as ballot counting is underway in the US Presidential Elections, a small village, Thulasendrapuram, located in Thiruvar district Tamil Nadu, approximately 320 kilometres south of Chennai, is upbeat about Kamala Harris’ victory. Thulasendrapuram is the birthplace of Harris’ maternal grandfather, PV Gopalan.

Harris, born to an Indian mother and Jamaican father, will be the first US Vice President woman of Indian and Black American descent, if the Democrats win the elections.

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“We are excited about the final result. We are hearing positive news. We are waiting to celebrate her victory,” Abirami, a villager, was quoted as saying by Reuters. The village has been following the US elections on their mobiles, keenly watching the tight race between President Donald Trump and his Democrat rival Joe Biden, who has Harris as his running mate.

At many place, posters with Harris’ pictures have been put up and many are offering  prayers in the local temple.

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Harris is inspiring women like M Umadevi in the village panchayat. “She is a daughter of our village,” Umadevi told Thomson Reuters Foundation. “This must have been difficult and challenging for her. But anything new is like that,” she said. “I feel both excited and nervous about my new role also.”