Nagapattinam
With Indian-origin Kamala Harris all set to be sworn in as the first woman Vice President of the US on Wednesday, people of 2 villages in Tamil Nadu, native to her maternal grandparents, are in a festive mood bursting crackers, distributing sweets and calendars with her photo embossed.
The 10-km stretch between Mannargudi and Thulasenthirapuram-Painganadu villages in Tiruvarur district is lined with huge digital banners carrying the photo of Kamala Harris. To celebrate the occasion, business organisations distributed calendars with her photo to people, while politicians cutting across party lines offered sweets to passers-by. Womenfolk of almost all houses drew rangolis with congratulatory messages and firecrackers were burst at many places.
Special prayers were held at the local temple praying for her successful stint as US Vice President. Some villagers are just waiting to see her being sworn-in on television.
Biden’s speechwriter Vinay Reddy makes his Telangana village proud
Hyderabad
When the entire world watched the new US President Joe Biden’s inaugural address, people in a remote village in Telangana cherished the moment for his speechwriter has his roots here. Villagers of Pothireddypeta in Karimnagar district, 200 km from Hyderabad, feel proud Cholleti Vinay Reddy has been appointed as the director of speechwriting of the new US President.
People in the village recall their association with Vinay Reddy's father Narayana Reddy, who migrated to the US in 1970. Narayana Reddy, who did his schooling in the village, pursued MBBS in Hyderabad and later migrated to the US. Vinay Reddy was born and brought up in the US but his family maintained its links with the village. The family still owns three acres of land and a house in Pothireddypeta.
