Indian village cheers for Harris during swearing-in as US Vice President

Villagers shout as they watch Kamala Harris being sworn in as US Vice President. Thulasendrapuram, India: With chants of "Long live Kamala Harris," fireworks and prayers, residents of a tiny Indian village celebrated her inauguration as US vice president.

'Kamala Harris' made from ingredients of a local savory Murukku. People flocked to the village and its Hindu temple in southern India, to watch Harris, who has ancestral roots in the village, take her oath of office on Wednesday in Washington. Groups of women in bright saris and men wearing white dhoti pants watched the inauguration live as reporters broadcast the villager's celebrations to millions of Indians. The villagers chanted "Long live Kamala Harris" while holding portraits of her and blasted off fireworks the moment she took the oath.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Harris becoming US vice president a "historic occasion. Looking forward to interacting with her to make India-USA relations more robust."

A local villager hands over the offerings to a Hindu priest. Earlier, the villages adorned their temple with flowers, offering special prayers for Harris' success. Her maternal grandfather was born in the village of Thulasendrapuram, about 350 kilometers (215 miles) from the southern coastal city of Chennai "We are feeling very proud that an Indian is being elected as the vice president of America," said teacher Anukampa Madhavasimhan.

At the prayer ceremony in Thulasendrapuram, the idol of Hindu deity Ayyanar, a form of Lord Shiva, was washed with milk and decked with flowers by a priest. Then the village reverberated with the sound firecrackers as people held up posters of Harris and clapped their hands.

A villager hangs a calendar US President Biden and Vice President Harris inside a wedding hall. Harris made history Wednesday as the first Black, South Asian and female US vice president and what made her special for the village is is her Indian heritage.

Villagers prepare to burst firecrackers. Harris' grandfather was born more than 100 years ago. Many decades later, he moved to Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu state. Harris' late mother was also born in India, before moving to the US to study at the University of California. She married a Jamaican man, and they named their daughter Kamala, a Sanskrit word for "lotus flower."

Villagers burst firecrackers and hold placards featuring Harris. In several speeches, Harris has often spoken about her roots and how she was guided by the values of her Indian-born grandfather and mother. So when Joe Biden and Harris triumphed in the US election last November, Thulasendrapuram became the center of attention in entire India. Local politicians flocked to the village and young children carrying placards with photos of Harris ran along the dusty roads.

Then and now, villagers set off firecrackers and distributed sweets and flowers as a religious offering. Posters and banners of Harris from November still adorn walls in the village and many hope she ascends to the presidency in 2024.

Biden has skirted questions about whether he will seek reelection or retire. "For the next four years, if she supports India, she will be the president," said G Manikandan, who has followed Harris politically and whose shop proudly displays a wall calendar with pictures of Biden and Harris.

Villagers clap to celebrate after U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris was sworn in.

On Tuesday, an organization that promotes vegetarianism sent food packets for the village children as gifts to celebrate Harris' success. In the capital New Delhi, there has been both excitement _ and some concern _ over Harris' ascent to the vice presidency.