Sunita Williams’ return sparks joy in her Gujarat hometown

Astronaut Sunita Williams' Dragon spacecraft has landed on Earth after spending more than 9 months in space. Celebrations are taking place from America to her ancestral village.

This is Sunita's ancestral home in India, located in Jhulasan village of Mehsana district in Gujarat, where her father lived with his family before moving to America.

Special prayers and rituals were performed for 9 months in Williams' ancestral village for her successful journey in space. Everyone was eagerly waiting for Sunita's return.

Posters of Sunita are displayed on walls of school in Williams' village. The children prayed to God for her return and said that they too would make India proud like Sunita Didi.

These women are from Sunita Williams' ancestral village of Jhulasan, who worshiped Sunita's picture in the temple. Now these women are celebrating.

The whole village considers Sunita as their daughter. They say that she may have gone to America, but she is still a daughter of our village. 

This picture of Sunita Williams is from 2017 when she was on a tour of India. During this time, she came to her ancestral village, where she greeted the villagers by hugging them.

This is Williams' ancestral village Jhulasan, where the celebration is at its peak right now. Everyone is congratulating each other by feeding sweets on the daughter's victory.