Kamala Harris takes a trip down memory lane, reflects on her proud Indian heritage

Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris took a trip down memory lane on Saturday, August 15 and recalled her memories in India. From her mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris trying to “instill a love of good idli” in her and sister Maya Harris to “long walks” with grandfather in Chennai, the US Senator elaborated her experiences while speaking at an event by ‘South Asians of Biden’.

Kamala Harris not only extended her wishes on India’s 74th Independence Day but also noted the shared history of India and America. According to her, the communities in India and the US are bound together by far more strong ties that their history and culture. 

“When my mother Shyamala [Gopalan] stepped off a plane in California as a 19-year-old, she didn’t have much in way of belongings but she carried with her lessons from home, including ones she’d learned from her parents,” Kamala Harris said.

Harris also spoke about how her mother, a Tamil Indian-American who later became a cancer researcher and an activist, used to take both her daughters to India to make them understand where she had come from. 

“Growing up, my mother would take my sister Maya and me back to what was then called Madras because she wanted us to understand where she had come from and where we had ancestry. And, of course, she always wanted to instil in us, a love of good Idli,” she said

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Harris talks about her grandfather

Named the first Black woman to a major presidential ticket, Harris also talked about her grandfather PV Gopalan, a civil servant and how they both used to go on ‘long walks’  in what was then called Madaras.  She said that her grandfather used to tell her about “heroes” who were part of the struggle that India went through for its freedom. Harris even credited the lessons from Gopalan as the huge reason for “why I am where I am today”. 

“In Madras, I would go on long walks with my grandfather, who at that point was retired, and we take morning walks where I pulled his hand and he would tell me about the heroes who are responsible for the birth of the world’s biggest democracy, and he would explain that ‘tt’s on us to pick up where they left off’. Those lessons are a big reason why I am where I am today,” Harris added.

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Image: AP/ Inputs: ANI