Calling for divine intervention: A woman walking past a poster of Harris in her ancestral village of Thulasendrapuram in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu, after she was endorsed for the fall presidential election. — AFP
The god of truth and righteousness is on the side of the Democratic Party in this year’s US presidential election, according to Hindu priests in likely nominee Kamala Harris’ ancestral Indian village.
A single narrow road lined with coconut trees leads to Thulasendrapuram, a village surrounded by padi fields deep in the southern state of Tamil Nadu and once home to Harris’ maternal grandfather.
A huge picture of the smiling Democrat stands at the village entrance near its main temple, a sprawling structure with a towering, decorated gate.
Community prayers began there the day after President Joe Biden withdrew from the race, paving the way for Harris to ascend to the top of the ticket, and are expected to continue daily until voting day.
Hours after sunrise, sarong-clad head priest M. Natrajan paid obeisance with offerings of sweets and rice pudding to Dharmasastha, the Hindu god of truth and righteousness, to whom the centuries-old temple is dedicated.
“We prayed for her, and she became vice-president,” the 61-year-old holy man said.
“With the blessing of our all-powerful deity, we are confident she will now become president too.”
Another enormous image of Harris stands outside the temple’s gates, adorned by intricate artwork, and dozens of villagers thronged the premises.
Harris’ name appears on a list of donors on one of the temple walls, but she has not visited the village since being sworn in as vice-president in 2021.
Subhramanya praying for the victory of Usha’s husband JD at a Sai Baba temple in Vadluru, ancestral village of Usha’s parents, at the West Godavari district of India’s Andhra Pradesh state. — AFP
“This time if she wins again, the celebrations will be grander than anything the village has ever seen,” the priest said.
The offerings were “donated by the people of the village”, said J. Sudhakar, 50, an influential local leader. “It is a collective effort of everyone in the village for one of our own.”
Harris, 59, was born in California, but was often taken to India by her mother – breast cancer specialist Shyamala Gopalan – and has spoken about the influence of her maternal grandfather.
Meanwhile, every day in a simple temple in an Indian village, Hindu priest Subhramanya Sharma prays to his god for JD Vance to become vice-president of the United States.
Bowing before a silver cloth-wrapped idol of Sai Baba, a 19th-century guru revered as a deity by his followers, the priest seeks blessings for the Republican politician and his wife, Usha.
Vadluru, a quiet village on the banks of a canal deep in the verdant countryside of Andhra Pradesh, is the ancestral home of Vance’s wife, who will become the US Second Lady – and the first who is not white – if Donald Trump is elected again.
“We bless her,” said the priest, whose temple is in a building once owned by Usha’s family, the Chilukuris.
“She should get higher positions in her life. We priests offer special prayers for Usha and her husband.”
Usha’s great-grandfather moved out of Vadluru, but her ancestors are respected in the village as academic highflyers and well-versed in Hindu scriptures. — AFP
