THULASENDRAPURAM: Residents in US Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris’ ancestral village in southern India were preparing to hold prayers on election day on Tuesday in a Hindu temple more than 8,000 miles (13,000 km) from Washington.

Harris’ maternal grandfather P. V. Gopalan was born more than a century ago in the leafy village of Thulasendrapuram in what is now southern India’s Tamil Nadu state.

“There will be a special prayer on Tuesday morning at the temple,” G. Manikandan, a villager who runs a small store near the temple, said. “Celebrations will follow if she wins.”

At the temple, Harris’ name is engraved into a stone that lists public donations, along with that of her grandfather.

Outside, a large banner wishes “the daughter of the land” success in the election.

Gopalan and his family migrated a few hundred miles to the coastal city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu’s capital, where he worked as a high-ranking government official until his retirement.

The village received global attention four years ago, when its residents prayed for victory for Harris’ Democratic Party in 2020 before celebrating her inauguration as US Vice President by setting off firecrackers and distributing food.

Harris and her Republican rival Donald Trump were scrambling to get supporters to the polls in an historically close contest, which means it could take days for the winner to emerge.

Published in Dawn, November 5th, 2024