Indian-origin Democratic vice presidential nominee, Kamala Harris, on Saturday recounted her mother's attempt to "instill a love for idlis"  in her and her younger sister Maya. She also remembered her "long walks" with her grandfather in Chennai.

Harris, speaking at an event by "South Asians of Biden", extended wishes on India's Independence Day.

Harris said that her mother Shyamala, who became a leading cancer researcher and activist in America, would take her and her sister Maya to India because she wanted her daughters to understand where she had come from.

The  55-year-old senator remembered how she and her grandfather would go on long walks in Chennai. She also remembered her grandfather PV Gopalan telling her about the 'heroes' who contributed to India's freedom struggle.

"Those lessons by my grandfather are a big reason why I am where I am today," Harris said.

Harris' parents met as doctoral students at the University of California, Berkeley at the dawn of the 1960s.

Her father, a Jamaican named Donald Harris, studied economics. Her mother Shyamala Gopalan studied nutrition and endocrinology.

Gopalan Harris gave birth to Kamala and then Maya two years after her marriage. A few years into the marriage, Harris' parents divorced.

The mother's influence on Harris grew greater than her father.

Harris began her career in the Alameda County District Attorney's Office.

In her nearly two terms in office as attorney general, Harris gained a reputation as one of the rising stars of the Democratic Party.

Last year, in December, she ran for the  Democratic nomination for US President. However, she ended her campaign citing the shortage of funds.

Last week, Democratic Presidential candidate for the US election 2020 Joe Biden, named her as his running mate.

Harris has become the third woman to be selected as the vice president on a major party ticket last week. The enthusiasm surrounding her historic candidacy has brought in a record  $36 million, including contributions from 150,000 new donors.