Team News Riveting
Chennai, November 8
A temple tucked away unobtrusively in Thulasenthirapuram village of Tamil Nadu’s Tiruvarur district had offered special puja for the victory of America’s Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.
On November 2, when the US went to the polls, the locals had performed special prayers in a temple. Thulasenthirapuram is an agrarian village located close to Mannargudi town. It also happens to be the ancestral village of America’s first woman Vice President.
Kamala’s grandfather P V Gopalan moved out of Thulasenthirapuram village as a young man and took up a job in the British government service. Though Kamala’s ancestors left the village many decades ago, family members had kept their connections with the temple at Thulasenthirapuram intact.
Gopalan and other family members have made donations for temple renovation during various periods. As recently as 2014, a donation was made, said the temple trustee Ramani.
The village came to limelight about a year ago when Kamala Harris herself disclosed about her grandfather in social media and her connection with the Tamil Nadu village. In her victory speech, Kamala Harris had invoked the journey of her mother Shyamala Gopalan Harris from India as a teenager and hailed her for being among those who “paved the way for this moment tonight” when her daughter could become the Vice President.
Meanwhile, the village of Thulasenthirapuram erupted into celebration as Kamala Harris was declared the Vice-President elect of the United States of America, after a keenly fought election. Locals at the village, which is native to Kamala’s maternal grandparents, set off firecrackers, drew rangolis and played music to celebrate her win.
Tamil Nadu Food Minister R Kamaraj also visited the village and offered prayers at the local temple on Sunday, telling mediapersons that it was a ‘proud moment’.
