MANNARGUDI: "Kamala will definitely win. This God will make her win. After that, God will make her come here," says Paramasivam, pointing to the Thulasendrapuram Dharmashasta Temple. He has no doubts that Kamala Harris will become the US President.

Not only Paramasivam but the entire Thulasendrapuram are hoping that Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party candidate, will win the US presidential election. They are hoping that Kamala will return to her ancestral temple after winning the election.

Thulasendrapuram is a small village located in Mannargudi Taluk, Tiruvarur district, approximately 330 kilometres from Chennai. This village gained international attention in 2020 when Kamala Harris became the Vice President of the United States.

In 2014, during the Kumbhabhishekam ceremony on May 5th, a donation was made in Kamala Harris' name. Her name, along with other donors, is inscribed on a stone slab on the temple wall. Additionally, the name of Kamala's grandfather, PV Gopalan, is also listed among the donors.

A flex board has been erected outside the temple wishing Kamala success. 'We don't know if she's aware of the special pujas performed here for her success. We expect her to mention a word about her native village,' said Suresh, the temple administrator. Notably, Kamala Harris had visited Thulasendrapuram at the age of five.

Grandfather was local hero
Kamala’s grandfather Painganad Venkataraman Gopalan Iyer, known as PV Gopalan, was very much loved and respected by society. He came from a well-known Ayyangar family. The family started a school near the local temple, which is now government-run. Gopalan served as a civil service officer in British India. The Indian government appointed him to assist Zambia in managing the influx of refugees from Rhodesia, which became known as Zimbabwe after gaining independence from Britain. He later served as an advisor to Zambia's first president, Kenneth Kaunda. During this time, his daughter Shyamala Gopalan was studying biomedical sciences at the University of California in the United States, where she later earned a Ph.D. in endocrinology.

She met Donald J. Harris, an economist from Jamaica, and married him. Her sister, Sarala, is an unmarried doctor in Chennai. Her brother, Balachandran, and sister, Dr. Mahalakshmi, a scientist, live abroad.