Kamala remembers mum on her big day

Ms Kamala Harris made history on Wednesday when she was sworn in as the first woman, first black and first Indian-American vice-president of the United States.

The former California senator's first tweet from her US government account as the holder of the second-highest office in the country's administration consisted of just three words, but delivered the intended message forcefully: "Ready to serve."

Ms Harris, 56, who is of Indian and Jamaican descent, was sworn in by US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, a Latina.

Her becoming the vice-president is being seen as a milestone in the long struggle for gender and racial justice across the world.

Ms Harris, who had said in her first speech as the vice president-elect that she would be the first woman to hold the post but not the last, on Wednesday shared on Twitter a moving tribute to her Indian mother and all the "women who came before me".

"I'm here today because of the women who came before me. And to the woman most responsible for my presence here today - my mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, who is always in our hearts," Ms Harris said, as snapshots of her family and her campaign flitted across the screen.

Her late mother Shyamala, a cancer researcher and civil rights activist, was born in India. She immigrated to the US from Chennai in 1958 aged 19 to study at the University of California and later married Ms Harris' father Donald, a Jamaican.

Ms Harris was born on Oct 20, 1964, in Oakland, California. Her parents named her Kamala, a Sanskrit word for "lotus flower".

After her parents divorced in 1971, Ms Harris was raised primarily by her Hindu single mother.

On Wednesday, Ms Harris' family from India did not make it to the inauguration because of Covid-19 concerns and restrictions.

But her multi-hued family in the US - including her sister Maya, her niece Meena and husband Dough Emhoff - were present.

In India, Ms Harris' elevation to the vice-presidency was greeted with much joy. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other leaders joined the world in extending their greetings. Calling it a "historic occasion", Mr Modi congratulated Ms Harris in a tweet and said that he is looking forward to interacting with her to make India's relations with the US more robust.

"The India-USA partnership is beneficial for our planet," he said.

Residents of Ms Harris' ancestral Indian village celebrated her inauguration by setting off firecrackers and distributing food.

Her maternal grandfather was born in Thulasendrapuram, a leafy village about 320km south of Chennai, more than a century ago.

"We are feeling very proud that an Indian has become the vice-president of America," said Mr Anukampa Madhavasimhan, 52, a teacher.

Ms Harris' grandfather moved to Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu, decades ago.

In the days leading up to the inauguration, calendars featuring the faces of Mr Biden and Ms Harris were distributed throughout Thulasendrapuram by a co-operative.

"A local politician conducted a special prayer and villagers have been distributing sweets and letting off crackers since the morning," said shopkeeper G. Manikandan on Wednesday.

Ms Harris visited Thulasendrapuram when she was five and has recalled walks with her grandfather on the beach at Chennai.

Ahead of the US elections in November, villagers organised a ceremony at the main Hindu temple in Thulasendrapuram to wish Ms Harris good luck. After her win, they set off firecrackers and distributed sweets and flowers as a religious offering.

Posters of Ms Harris from the November celebrations still adorn walls in the village and many hope she ascends to the presidency in 2024.

Mr Biden has skirted questions about whether he will seek re-election or retire.

"For the next four years, if she supports India, she will be the president," said Mr Manikandan, 40, who has followed her politically and whose shop proudly displays a wall calendar with photos of Ms Harris.

On Tuesday, an organisation that promotes vegetarianism sent food packets for the village children as gifts to celebrate Ms Harris' success.

In Punjab's Amritsar city, painter Jagjot Singh Rubal painted a mural depicting Mr Biden and Ms Harris.

Another artist and teacher Sagar Kambli made paintings of the pair outside his art school in Mumbai.

Acclaimed sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik created a sculpture featuring the two Democrats on the beach in Puri, Odisha. It also had the US flag and Capitol Building in the foreground.

Ms Harris' uncle, an academic who lives in Delhi, said "there's no message I can give" to her.

"I didn't help her become vice-president. She did it all on her own. All that I'll tell her is 'do whatever Shyamala taught you. You've been doing fine so far, keep it up. It's all I can say," said Mr G. Balachandran, whose sister is Ms Harris' mother.

On Wednesday, Hachette India also launched a book: Kamala Harris: The American Story that Began on India's Shore - written by Hansa Makhijani Jain. It tells the inspirational story of Ms Harris - the way she carved her own path in the US and became an inspiration for many - and sheds light on her formative years spent with her mother.

Even as Ms Harris made history, Indians had a major concern: Does she have kids? A Google Trends search with India as the location over the past seven days showed the top result was "Does Kamala Harris have children?" followed by "Kamala Harris children" and "Kamala Harris husband".

Ms Harris has children, but not biologically.

She is married to lawyer Emhoff, 56, who has two children - John Coltrane, 26, and Ella Fitzgerald, 21, - from his earlier marriage.

Many Indians also wondered if Ms Harris would be wearing a traditional Indian sari for the inauguration.

Ms Harris was asked by a person during her campaign speech if she would wear the sari if she wins the election. She had then said: "Let's first win."

In the end, she rocked in a deep purple outfit designed by African-American designers Christopher John Rogers and Sergio Hudson.

Indo-Asian News Service

"I'm here today because of the women who came before me. And to the woman most responsible for my presence here today - my mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, who is always in our hearts."

- Ms Kamala Harris

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