Chennai: Dr Sarala Gopalan was a happy woman on Friday. She watched with awe on television her niece and US Vice-President Kamala Harris officially accepting her party’s presidential nomination at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago.
“Of course, we are very thrilled and happy. Our family is quite proud of her (Kamala’s) achievements. She will always be our daughter,” Sarala Gopalan, the Chennai-based aunt of Kamala Harris, told DH over the phone.
Kamala Harris, 59, on Thursday wrote herself into the history by emerging the first person of Indian origin to contest the US Presidential polls. She was thrust into the top of the ticket after President Joe Biden bowed out of the high-stakes race citing health reasons.
The Democratic Presidential candidate’s mother Dr Shyamala Gopalan hailed from Tamil Nadu and her children – Kamala and Maya – had gone for a stroll at the Elliot’s Beach in Besant Nagar along with their grandfather P V Gopalan during their visit to Chennai.
Sarala Gopalan, who is Shyamala’s younger sister, did convey her wishes and blessings to her niece before Kamala went in for the DNC earlier this week.
“I spoke to her (Kamala) and conveyed my wishes to her. We wish her all the best,” Sarala Gopalan said. “I was in Canada to visit my sister, and I called Kamala (Harris). She has always been a caring person and never forgets to call me chithi (aunt),” she added.
Sarala Gopalan also spoke about the “humble beginnings” of her sister’s children and termed Kamala Harris as someone who “always stayed to her roots.”
“She (Kamala) believes in family values. And I am proud to say that it Shyamala’s upbringing that brought Kamala where she is today. Kamala’s achievements make all of us proud. My sister would have been the happiest person to see this happen,” Sarala Gopalan added.
Talking about Kamala Harris’ mother, Sarala Gopalan said her sister was very progressive and brave that some 60 years ago she went to the US alone to pursue her studies and made a name for herself.
“We will certainly travel to the US to see her being sworn-in as the US President. It will be a proud moment for the entire family,” she added.
Kamala Harris’ grandfather P V Gopalan was an Indian diplomat. The US Vice-President had herself in the past recalled how the former had shaped her life and served as the greatest inspiration besides her mother Dr Shyamala Gopalan, who migrated to the US as a teenager to study medicine and rose to become a breast cancer specialist.
Dr Shyamala Gopalan married a Jamaican Donald Harris, and the couple had two daughters Kamala Harris and Maya Harris, a lawyer by profession. Kamala Harris and her sister would accompany Dr Shyamala Gopalan to Chennai often to meet their grandparents at their home in upscale Besant Nagar.
When Dr Shyamala Gopalan died in 2009, Kamala Harris flew down to Chennai to immerse her ashes in the Bay of Bengal and had remained in touch with her mother’s family.
The US Democratic Presidential hopeful had herself recalled her mother as “smart and fierce.” Since my sister is not alive today, “we will always be available for Kamala and Maya” whenever they need us, Dr Sarala Gopalan said.