Kamala Harris is set to become the first woman, the first Black woman and the first woman of Indian heritage to become Vice President of the United States
Chennai: Happy and thrilled - that's how Kamala Harris' jubilant aunt, who lives in Chennai, felt moments after her niece's first address as the Vice President-elect of the United States; a speech in which Ms Harris paid tribute to "generations of women who fought and sacrificed for justice for all".
US Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris has achieved what she wanted to do, according to her maternal aunt Sarala Gopalan who lauded the Democrat for the poll victory.
"I am a doctor and I used to work in Chandigarh. Kamala has visited us a number times in Chandigarh and other places. We have always seen her (Kamala Harris) grow up as a good child. She was very good at whatever she did and she has achieved what she wanted to do," she said.
Dr Gopalan is the Chennai-based younger sister of Harris's mother, Shyamala Gopalan who was born in Chennai before she moved to the US for further studies. Shyamala was a leading cancer researcher and activist.
Dr Gopalan, whom Ms Harris fondly referred to in Tamil as "chithi (aunt)", while accepting the Democratic vice presidential nomination in August, had a simple message for her niece: "You've always been a hard worker. Keep it up".
She added that the family is joyous about Kamala Harris scripting history by becoming the first woman and the first Vice-President-elect who is an Indian-American.
Kamala Harris's maternal grandfather was born in Thulasenthirapuram, located about 320 km south of the city of Chennai. Shyamala was the daughter of PV Gopalan, a high-ranking civil servant.
The Democratic presidential candidate defeated President Donald Trump in a closely contested election and will be the 46th president of the United States.
In this, his third attempt at the White House, Biden, a four-decade Washington figure as a Senator and then a vice president, received more than 74 million votes, 4 million more than Trump, and more than any other presidential candidate.