On July 21, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the re-election race due to increasing pressure from within his Democratic Party. Shortly after his announcement, he endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor. With Harris preparing to file her nomination on November 5, the residents of Painganadu-Thulasendrapuram, the Tamil Nadu village from which Kamala Harris’ grandfather hailed are holding special prayers for her success.
On Monday, the residents did a special puja from 9:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. at Dharma Sastha Temple, as per the report by Deccan Herald. The report added that until the Democratic Party’s official nominee for the US Presidential election is declared, the villagers likely will perform special pujas.
Interestingly, they held large feeding campaigns and drew rangolis in front of their houses to commemorate Harris’ selection as Vice President in 2020.
A village resident informed the news outlet that the community is “very happy” because P.V. Gopalan’s granddaughter is a likely candidate for the US presidential nomination. The resident added that they have organised “special pujas” with hopes that she will overcome Donald Trump and secure the nomination.
Another villager was also mentioned by the publication as expressing their “hope” over Harris’ selection as the Democrats’ presidential contender. “We prayed before our temple deity who is very powerful,” the resident added.
According to the Deccan Herald, Kamala Harris and her maternal uncle Balachandran Gopalan are among the notable donors who each contributed Rs 5,000 for the refurbishment of the temple.
Balachandran and Harris’s aunt, Sarala Gopalan, receive occasional invitations to festivals and sacred ash (vibudhi) from the temple administration. Despite moving away from the village a long time ago, the Gopalan family maintained ties to it by giving money for the temple’s construction and other festivities, the report added.
In 2021, Biden and Harris took the oath of office as the 46th and 49th president and vice president, respectively. Her spouse, Doug Emhoff, has also created history by being America’s first second gentleman.
Comments
0 comment