Kamala Harris’ Ancestral Village In South India Celebrates Win With Firecrackers, Rangoli, Posters

Residents set off firecrackers in the ancestral home of Kamala Harris on Sunday as India celebrated the US vice president-elect's victory. At Thulasendrapuram village in Tamil Nadu, once home to Harris's maternal grandfather PV Gopalan, celebrations broke out. People celebrated by burning firecrackers, praying at its main temple, distributing sweets and waving posters bearing the vice president-elect's face. Women in the village made a rangoli, a colourful work of folk art drawn on the ground, with the words "Congratulations to Kamala Harris". She has broken many glass barriers by becoming the first woman and Indian American to be elected as the US vice president. Harris is the daughter of breast cancer specialist Shyamala Gopalan from the southern Indian city of Chennai. Kamala Harris was born to a Jamaican father and an Indian mother Shyamala Gopalan, who was born in Chennai before she moved to the US for further study. Shyamala was a leading cancer researcher and activist. Kamala Harris's maternal grandfather was born in Thulasenthirapuram, located about 320 km south of the city of Chennai. Shyamala was the daughter of PV Gopalan, a high-ranking civil servant.

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