CHENNAI: On annual trips to India as a child, Kamala Harris would go for strolls on the humid beaches of Chennai with her maternal grandfather and his friends, listening intently as they chatted about democracy and the need to treat everyone equally.
Harris, born to an Indian mother and a Jamaican father who both immigrated to the United States to study, made history on Tuesday (Aug 11) when US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden picked her as his vice president.
Advertisement
Advertisement
In a speech in 2018, Senator Harris recalled those early visits to her grandparents in the upscale neighbourhood of Besant Nagar, along the shores of the Bay of Bengal in southern India.
"I was not conscious of it at the time, but it was those walks on the beach with my grandfather in Besant Nagar that had a profound impact on who I am today," Harris, now 55, said in New York.
Her grandfather, who was among millions of people who joined India's independence movement, later became a high-ranking government official.
READ: Black activists praise Biden's pick of Harris, but warn challenges remain
Advertisement
Advertisement
On Wednesday, reporters and camera crew from local and national news channels crowded into the quiet, tree-lined street where Harris had spent time with her mother's family.
A post box with her aunt's name embossed on it was the last remaining link to Harris's family in Chennai, after the aunt sold her ground-floor apartment.
A postal box with the name Sarala Gopalan, aunt of Kamala Harris, is seen outside Harris' maternal grandparents' former apartment which she visited occasionally, in Chennai, India, August 12, 2020. REUTERS/P. Ravikumar
The aunt, gynaecologist Sarala Gopalan, told CNN-News18 that she had been up since 4am local time, after hearing that Biden had picked her niece as his vice president.
"She is very caring and kind to people, and that's what I like about her the most," Gopalan said. "If I send her a message right now saying Kamala I need you, the next day she will be here."
Her uncle Gopalan Balachandran told Reuters partner ANI about her love for both South Indian and American food. Her taste in music also points to her diverse upbringing, he said.
"She likes India, she likes Indian music, but she likes jazz music also."
Gopalan Balachandran, maternal uncle of U.S. Senator Kamala HarrRead More – Source
