TIRUVARUR: Hours before US President-elect Joe Biden and Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris were to be sworn in on Wednesday, the residents of Thulasendrapuram — her ancestral village in Tiruvarur district — began celebrating. With the much-awaited big day finally here, villagers took to bursting crackers and distributing sweets.
Residents performed a special puja at the Sri Dharma Sastha temple and held aloft placards wishing her success. J Sudhakar, president of Mannai Green City Rotary who organised the event, said the villagers were waiting for the moment and they have also appealed to Kamala to visit the village. “We have decided to take all steps to bring Kamala Harris to Thulasendrapuram with the help of Rotarians and a DMK MP,” Sudhakar told TOI.
M Gurunathan, a village committee member, expressed his gratitude to Kamala Harris for bringing worldwide attention to their hamlet. “Our little hometown in Tamil Nadu is now known everywhere. I thank her on behalf of the people of Thulasendrapuram,” he said.
Thulasendrapuram has been in celebratory mode since Kamala Harris’ name was announced as the vice-presidential nominee of Democratic Party in the US presidential election. Her grandfather P V Gopalan, a former Indian diplomat, was a native of the village.