US Elections: Special Pooja For Kamala Harris In Her Ancestors' Village In Tamil Nadu Amid Vote Count

The residents of Painganadu village held pooja in the name of Kamala Harris and prayed for her victory a day before the US Presidential elections.

Residents walk past a poster of US Democratic vice-presidential candidate, Kamala Harris, at her ancestral village. (Image: AFP)

New  Delhi: On the morning of November 4, the residents of the Painganadu village of Tiruvarur district of Tamil Nadu, assembled in the morning near a temple to wish good luck to the Democratic vice-presidential candidate for the US elections, Kamala Harris. Around 350 Kms away from Chennai, Painganadu is the ancestral village of Kamala Harris, where a huge poster wishing good luck to Kamala has been put up. As the day counting passed, when the results became tighter and margins closed, the villagers’ mood turned somber. People left the temple premises and headed back home hoping to come back when the results are out. The residents of Painganadu held pooja in the name of Kamala Harris and prayed for her victory a day before the elections. "We are proud that Kamala is from our village. Her grandfather Gopalan was from here. The house has become a vacant spot now. No one from the family lives here. They migrated elsewhere decades ago," said a villager. As the family left the village long ago, only a few remember the name PV Gopalan grandfather of Kamala Harris and former Indian diplomat, in Painganadu village. However, the main village temple has his and Kamala’s name carved out for their donations given to the temple. One of the walls of the Shri Dharmasastha Temple board mentions a donation by Kamala of Rs 5,000 and from her grandfather PV Gopalan of Rs 250. Even though the village itself is very small and not everyone knows about Kamala Harris. When the media reached the village, a few villagers were even surprised why was the media thronging the village and what was so special? Only later to realize the village’s connection with the US elections. “This is the ancestral place of PV Gopalan. He was born in 1911 in this village and later he got into Indian diplomatic services and eventually moved abroad and later to Chennai. We don't know where they are now. But they were in touch with our ancestors,” said Ramani, the temple administrator.< “They are connected to this village now because of the Shri Dharmasastha Temple. This is the family temple of PV Gopalan and they have been sending donations to the temple through their relatives and helping the temple,” Ramani further added. Speaking to the media a few months back, Kamala Harris' aunt Dr. Sarala Gopalan, who is in good touch with her nieces in the US, said Kamala has always been a caring person. "We have seen her as a child, as a teenager, and we have seen her as a grown-up person. She is a very caring and nice person and talks to everybody. Whenever she comes to India, she visits us, and it has been a few years since she came here. Right from her childhood, she (Kamala) knew what she wanted," she said.