Sunita Williams is stuck in space and is slated to return to earth on February 25. Residents of her ancestral village in Gujarat are praying for her in the meantime.
People of Juhlasan in the western Indian state are proud of the fact that Williams is connected to their village. It was home to her father and grandparents. Sunita also visited the village three times -- in 1972, 2007, and 2013, after successful space missions.
The 58-year-old went for an eight-day space mission on June 5 but got stuck on the International Space Station (ISS) after the Boeing Starliner craft faced problems. They will now return with SpaceX.
Meanwhile, in Jhulasan, locals are offering daily prayers for her safe return and keeping an oil lamp burning, BBC reported. They also kept a space-themed exhibition on Thursday, which marked her 59th birthday, hoping she'd visit after yet another successful mission.
The 7,000-people strong village has other memories of Williams as well -- with a library named after her grandparents still standing, although in poor condition. Her father Deepak Pandya's ancestral home is still standing, the publication reported. Deepak, a neuroscientist, died in 2020.
A school for which Williams had made a donation during her visit has a picture of her grandparents in the prayer hall and when Williams was felicitated there in 2007, her relative Kishore Pandya got a chance to meet her.
Williams' father Pandya had moved to the US in 1957 to pursue higher studies, where he met and married Ursuline Bonnie. The couple gave birth to Sunita in 1965.
They visited seven years later for the first time, and the moment was one of celebration with the village welcoming them warmly and taking them around in a procession, BBC said.
A resident, who worked as a carpenter back then, told the publication: "I still remember a young Sunita and others riding on camels as they toured the village."
One of the women who offered prayers for her at a local temple said "We are proud of her achievements. NASA and the government should do whatever they can to bring our daughter back safely."
Published 20 September 2024, 05:17 IST