Prayers in Tamil Nadu for Kamala Harris to win US presidential election

Indians in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, which US vice president hopeful Kamala Harris visited as a child, erected banners, held special prayers and wished her success, Reuters reported.

Villagers in Painganadu, Harris’ ancestral village, put up banners of Harris, according to the report.

Harris’ mother, who migrated to the US to study, traces her roots to this non-descript hamlet in eastern Tamil Nadu.

“They (Kamala Harris) have gone to the level of contesting for a vice-presidential candidate in America. Naturally, the villagers are very happy,” Reuters quoted Ramanan, a trustee at a local temple, as saying.

Harris, born to an Indian mother and a Jamaican father who both immigrated to the US to study, made history last week when US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden picked her as his vice president.

According to Reuters, Ramanan said Harris’ maternal grandfather P. V. Gopalan, a former high-ranking Indian government official, donated funds to the temple when he visited.

Further south, in Tamil Nadu’s Rameswaram town, priests held special rituals and prayed for Harris’ victory, Reuters added.