US VP-elect Kamala Harris' ancestral village Tiruvarur celebrates her triumph with rangoli

The residents of Thulasendrapuram village in Tiruvarur district of Tamil Nadu made yet another 'rangoli' to congratulate Democratic Vice-Presidential elect, Kamala Harris, following her victory in the US Elections 2020. The residents of the village also put up posters of Harris, burst firecrackers and distributed sweets to celebrate her win. Thulasendrapuram village is the ancestral village of Kamala Harris as her maternal grandfather was born there. 

"Pride of Our Village"

The colourful 'rangoli' made by the women in Thulasendrapuram to congratulate Kamala Harris reads 'Congratulations Kamla Harris, pride of our village' and 'Vanakkam America'. On the other hand, Tamil Nadu State Minister R Kamaraj visited the native village of Kamala Harris, Thulasendrapuram, to offer prayers at the local temple for her victory in the US elections 2020. Speaking to ANI, Kamaraj said, "A woman hailing from this small village now holds one of highest positions in the US. It's a proud moment."

Read | Kamala Harris Makes History As The First Black Woman To Become US Vice President

Read | ‘We Did It’: Kamala Harris Calls Joe Biden After Historic US Win, Watch

Since the beginning, the residents Tamil Nadu's Thulasendrapuram village are rooting and praying for Kamala Harris. The locals had also made a 'rangoli' earlier to show their support for Harris which read, 'We pray for Kamala Harris' and had a thumbs-up symbol. They had also put up several hoardings and photographs of Kamala Harris, wishing her luck. The locals also believed that after winning the elections Kamala will come to meet them. On November 3, the villagers offered prayers at the local temple to pray for her victory in the 2020 US elections. A local said, "She is a big inspiration. The younger generation understands the significance of her win in the world's biggest economy, being vice president of such a big country will be a prideful moment for Indians itself."

Read | TN Village Makes Rangoli To Show Support For Kamal Harris Ahead Of US Election Results

Biden-Harris win US Elections 2020 

After 4 days of vote counting, Democratic nominee Joe Biden was elected the 46th US President on Saturday (local time) with 284 electoral college votes, along with vice presidential-elect Kamala Harris. This came after Biden's victory in Pennsylvania which took his past the 270 electoral college votes that he needed to win. Despite the close call - Georgia, Nevada, Arizona and Pennsylvania turned out to be the four swing states that helped Biden secure the win. He also won 50.6% popular votes amassing 7,48,47,834 ballots.

Read | Jill Biden Celebrates Joe's US Elections Win, Says 'He'll Be A President For All Families'

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will formally assume office in January 2021. Biden's running mate and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris has now made history by becoming the first woman, the first woman of colour and first woman of South-Asian origin to become the Vice-President of the United States. This isn't the first time the Democratic VP elect Harris has made history. She made history earlier by becoming the first Asian-American to be chosen as a Democratic vice presidential nominee. Several world leaders have taken the opportunity to congratulate Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as their supporters across the US have taken to streets to celebrate the victory.

Read | Moment Joe Biden Learnt Of His Win In US Polls Captured In This Emotional Family Picture

More on Kamala Harris

Kamala Harris is an Indian-American born to mother Shyamala Gopalan, who emigrated to America from India, and father Donald Harris who was a British Jamaica-born professor of economics at Stanford University. Her full name is Kamala Devi Harris. She has a sister, Maya Lakshmi Harris, who is an American lawyer, public policy advocate and a television commentator. As a child, Harris went to a black Baptist church as well as a Hindu temple. Kamala's mother, Shyamala Gopalan was the daugh of a high-ranking civil servant PV Gopalan and was born in Chennai. Kamala's maternal grandfather was born in Thulasendrapuram which is located about 320 km south of Chennai.

Read | President Kovind Congratulates Joe Biden & Kamala Harris On US Poll Win

(With inputs from ANI & AP)