Human Interest

Harris’ ancestral Indian village prays to ward off evil on inauguration day

Thulasendrapuram, India, Jan 19 (efe-epa).- Overjoyed residents of Thulasendrapuram, the Indian ancestral village of Kamala Harris, on Tuesday organized special prayers to ward off evil from the susceptible politician “daughter of the soil” ahead of her inauguration as the vice president of the United States.

The residents of the tiny village of sprawling rice paddies in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, thousands of miles away from America’s shores, are celebrating her success with sweets and special prayers.

M. Sudhakar, one of the villagers, performed ritualistic prayers at a local Hindu temple to keep Harris safe from off en evil eye as her “enviable success” had made her more vulnerable to the curse.

“The ritual will continue on Wednesday. We believe in the concept of casting an evil eye. That usually happens to successful people in the world. We organized prayers to keep the daughter of our village safe,” Sudhakar told EFE, referring to an ancient and ubiquitous superstitious belief in India.

The villagers have been celebrating since the day Harris became the first Asian-American, the first Black and the first female vice president of America.

Hoardings, cutouts, posters wishing Harris in Tamil adorned walls, trees, and pavements on the dusty roads of the township, some 350 km (nearly 220 miles) south of the state capital of Chennai.

Some families have even painted special ‘rangoli’, a traditional Indian floor art made out of colored powders, with slogans to congratulate her.

Anukampa Madhavasimhan, a government teacher, sees Harris as a role model not only for the women of her village but the entire world.

“I feel like I have become the US vice president. She has shown us that dreams can come true especially for women,” Madhavasimhan told EFE.

“Our Diwali (the biggest Hindu festival) began the day when she won the elections. And our celebrations would culminate now on the day of her inauguration.

“It is the historic day. We will thank our gods with a special puja followed by a lavish feast for the villagers.”

She said the village had shone brighter than before on the world map after Harris’ achievements.

Madhavasimhan hoped that Harris would find time to visit the village during her tenure and offer her “guidance to village women” on how to conquer the world confidently. EFE-EPA

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