Prayers held for Harris in ancestral Indian village
Residents living in and around Thulasendrapuram, the ancestral village of Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris, gathered at a temple for special prayers on Tuesday (November 3) ahead of the U.S. presidential elections.
One local politician conducted an "Abhishekam," a practice that involves pouring milk over a Hindu idol amid recitation of religious verses, in the presence of about 20 villagers.
Harris's name is seen sculpted into a stone that lists public donations made to the temple, along with that of her grandfather who had donated decades ago. Her aunt offered 5,000 rupees ($67) in her name after she was appointed the attorney general of California.
Harris's grandfather P.V. Gopalan and his family migrated to Chennai nearly 90 years ago, where he retired as a high-ranking government official.
Harris, who was born to an Indian mother and a Jamaican father who both immigrated to the United States to study, visited Thulasendrapuram when she was just five and has repeatedly recalled her formative walks with her grandfather on the beaches of Chennai.
