Kamala Harris never forgot her roots, even today calls me 'chithi': Aunt recounts Biden VP pick's childhood

Dr Sarala Gopalan speaks about her childhood, caring nature, daunting courage and love for South Indian cuisine

“We are very thrilled and happy. She has always been courageous, outgoing, and progressive,” said Dr Sarala Gopalan of her niece Kamala Harris, who is now the running mate of presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden.

In a conversation with DH hours after Biden made his decision known to the world through a tweet, Dr Sarala Gopalan and her brother G Balachandran spoke about Kamala Harris’ childhood, her caring nature, daunting courage, and her love for South Indian cuisine.

Read: Joe Biden picks Kamala Harris as his running mate

Dr Sarala Gopalan and Balachandran are the sister and brother of Dr Shyamala Gopalan, the US Senator’s mother.

Roots in Chennai

Kamala Harris’ grandfather P V Gopalan was an Indian diplomat and the US Senator had herself 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.

Also Read: How Kamala Harris found the political identity that had eluded her

Gopalan would take them for a walk on Elliot's Beach in Besant Nagar and the children’s love for India and the South Indian cuisine began here.

“She (Kamala Harris) is a person who never forgets her roots and believes in family values. Even today, she calls me chithi (mother’s younger sister) and she has always been a caring person. Obviously, we are thrilled and happy. We hope she achieves whatever she wants to,” Dr Sarala Gopalan, a gynecologist and obstetrician, said.

Her mother inspired her deeply

While Dr Sarala Gopalan lives in Chennai, her brother Balachandran was a consultant at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) in New Delhi and another sister is based in Canada.

“No doubt it is a proud moment for the whole family. We are quite happy that Kamala is the running mate of Joe Biden who hopes to be the US President,” Balachandran told DH from New Delhi, taking pride in the fact that her sister Dr Shyamala Gopalan taught them how to fight against the odds to achieve one’s goal.

Also Read: Harris’s indian grandfather ignited passion for public service

Dr Sarala Gopalan said: “I certainly feel it is my sister’s upbringing and the values she taught Kamala since her childhood that has brought her where she is today. Her achievement makes all of us feel happy and proud. My sister herself was very progressive and brave. She went to the US alone 60 years ago to pursue her studies and made a name for herself.”

Balachandran said Kamala would be able to face any kind of challenge as their mother had taught them to deal with the world. “Kamala knows how to overcome challenges and make herself heard. My sister has taught her to be brave and she has imbibed all the good qualities of my sister,” Balachandran added.

'Will always be with her she needs us'

Dr Sarala said her sister Dr Shyamala had raised her daughters – Kamala Harris and Maya – with “good values and views” which ensured they stuck to their roots. 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 vice-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.

Read: How it happened - Inside Joe Biden's search for a running mate

“For sure. I will be there if she needs me,” she said, when asked whether she would travel to the US to be with her niece, who attempts to write herself into the history.

“We do not interfere in their personal lives. If Kamala wants me near her, I will certainly travel,” she said, adding that she flew to the US in 2017 when Harris was sworn-in as a senator.

Love for South Indian cuisine

On Kamala Harris’ love for South Indian cuisine, Dr Sarala Gopalan said the US Senator would host her aunt based in Canada very often just to for the flabour of authentic Tamil food.

“Both Kamala and her husband love Indian cuisine, especially South Indian. My sister would travel to the US to be with me and ensure that they get their share of South Indian food. She loves the cuisine,” Dr Sarala Gopalan said.

‘My mother proved her critics wrong’

Kamala Harris herself has spoken about how her mother deeply inspired her.

“My mother, who raised me and my sister, was a proud woman. She was a brown woman. She was a woman with a heavy accent. She was a woman, who many times people would overlook her, or not take her seriously. Or because of her accent, assumed things about her intelligence. Now every time my mother proved them wrong.

“Every time she proved them wrong. And because of who mother was, and what she believed, what she had the ability to dream what was possible and then work to make possible, the fact that my mother never asked anyone permission to tell her what was possible is why, within one generation, I stand here as a serious candidate for the President of United States,” she had said.