'Kamala Is Like A Daughter To Me'

'Kamala likes south Indian food.'
'She likes a special rasam which her husband also likes, she likes coconut rice, she likes puri aloo...'

IMAGE: US President Joe Biden greets Democratic presidential nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's Phoenix Awards dinner at Walter E Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC, September 14, 2024. Photograph: Bonnie Cash/Reuters

The first time Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier met Dr Sarala Gopalan, the chithi or maternal aunt of Democratic presidential nominee and USA Vice President Kamala Harris, was in 2010 when Kamala was elected California's attorney general.

We met again in 2016 when she was elected a US Senator, the first Indian-American Senator.

We spoke again when she became the Vice President.

When Shobha went to meet Dr Sarala Gopalan (she has now moved to a retirement home, far away from Chennai) a day after the Presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald J Trump, she found Dr Gopalan guarded and cautious.

"I will not make any comments on politics," she warned Shobha. If she was quite eloquent about breaking coconuts at the Ganesha temple at every momentous occasion in Kamala Harris' life on earlier occasions, this time she didn't want to comment on it at all.

Quite understandable at a time when there are people ready to dissect every comment that is made about the Democratic presidential candidate.

Here is Dr Sarala Gopalan on her famous niece:

Did you watch the presidential debate on TV?

Of course, I watched the entire debate, from the beginning till the end. But I won't comment anything on the content of the debate. All I can say is that Kamala did well, and I am happy she did well.

There was fire in her words and the way she took on Trump. Has she been like this even when she was a child?

Yes, she has always been like that. You should remember that she did not became a politician overnight.

She was first a district attorney. Though I was not at her swearing-in, I have been to her district attorney office with my sister (Dr Shyamala Gopalan Harris) afterwards and saw her performing with confidence.

I have seen her as the attorney general though I did not see her office then.

But I did go to her office at Capitol Hill for her swearing-in as a senator.

After that, she became the vice president. I have been to her office two years ago.

What I want to say is, she has come this far, step by step. It is not that she was put at the top one day. She got the experience as she took every step in her career.

When she started her career as a prosecutor, did you get the feeling that she had the ambition to go high up in the ladder?

She told me she had the ambition to go high up.

When she was about to stand for the DA's election, I was there at my sister's place.

I remember asking her whether she was interested in politics. She said, 'Yes chithi, I am interested and I am going to do it.'

At every step, she said the same thing.

When she became a senator, I asked, what next? She said, 'Let's see. Let me come to the next step.'

It is not that she decided overnight to be in politics. I think she had her plans chalked out.

Was it a surprise for you now that she is contesting for the top-most position in the United States?

I don't think I am surprised.

We did think President Biden might withdraw (from the race) but we were not sure. Anyway, we knew she was with President Biden and if he won the election, she was going to be the vice president again. We were thinking on that terms.

I was in Canada with my younger sister Mahalakshmi when all this happened.

I didn't speak to her then, but I had spoken to her after I reached Canada.

What did you talk about?

We talk only family and not politics. We don't discuss any politics with her. We don't advise her on anything that is remotely connected with politics. All the decisions she has taken are her own.

We don't interfere at all. If she wanted to say something, we will listen, but we don't ask her about her political decisions.

All we say is, take care and be good!

Was Biden withdrawing from the race and she becoming the Democratic presidential candidate unexpected?

We did not expect it though we thought it might happen.

We didn't know whether he was going to nominate her or somebody else.

Earlier when we met, you had spoken about breaking coconuts at the nearest Ganesha temple whenever she contested.
Will you be doing it this time also?

I haven't decided whether I would break coconuts this time. It is a very personal decision and I don't want to discuss it.

She has never asked me to break coconuts. She has never asked me to pray for her. Because I am a believer, I used to do it for her. She knows I care for her.

In her speech after accepting the nomination, she spoke eloquently about her mother and also her chithis...

I am not surprised she spoke about her mother because my sister did a lot for the two girls.

She spoke about us chithis too as she likes her family. We are a very close knit family. We have seen the children grow up. It's not that we saw them only once in a while.

The first time I saw Kamala was when she was around two-and-a-half. Our father was working in Zambia then, and I was with my parents.

My sister came with Kamala, Maya and her husband to meet our parents. I think that was the first time she came with her children. They spent quite a bit of time with us in Zambia.

When I was working with the NHS (National Health Service) in Brixton in England, Shyamala had come there for some work. She had brought the kids with her. They were very small. I think it was way back in 1967 or 1968.

She asked me, can I leave the children with you? I said, yes. So, both Kamala and Maya stayed with me till my sister finished her work.

They were quite at home as we were not strangers to them. In fact, they were very familiar with the entire family.

Whatever I made, they ate happily. Wherever I took them, they came with me happily.

Subsequently, we saw the children a number of times as my sister would bring them to Chennai so that they could meet their grandparents.

I was not there all the time as I was in Chandigarh at that time. In fact, they came to Chandigarh a few times when my parents were staying with me.

After my father passed away, Kamala had come to see my mother.

What I want to say is, she has been in touch with us throughout.

And whenever I had gone to meet my sister Shyamala in San Francisco, and I had been quite a few times when she was alive, the children were there too.

Were you close to your sister?

We are a close knit family. My older sister Shyamala, my younger sister Mahalakshmi, my elder brother and I are very close.

My sister Shyamala is no more. Because our sister is not there, we feel it is our duty to do everything for Kamala like she would have done if she were alive.

For the convention when she was going to accept the nomination, we were all invited -- my younger sister, her husband, my brother and I. My brother happened to be in South America then.

All of them went for the convention, but I came back to India as I am not well enough to go to such crowded places. I have some beautiful pictures of them on the stage hugging Kamala after she accepted the nomination.

We will be there with her at every major step she takes. Whenever she calls us, we will be there for her.

When she got married, we were there. She called us and said, chithi, please come for my wedding.

When she was being sworn in as the senator, she called and said, chithi, please come to the Capitol Hill. It was winter, still I went.

So, we go whenever we should. But we don't disturb her otherwise, because she has so many things on her mind.

We always tell her to take care.

She is more like a daughter to me, more than a niece.

Did you speak to her after the convention?

No, we haven't spoken. I left her a message on the phone.

I didn't want to disturb her when she is so busy with the campaign.

The last time I met her was when my sister Mahalakshmi and I visited her at the VP's house. We were there for 4-5 days.

How was the experience of staying at the US vice president's house?

It was nice except that there was so much of security everywhere.

But we could spend some time with Kamala. She looked after us very well. She took us to her office. She took us out for lunch.

My brother's daughter who lives in Washington also joined us one day. It was like a family get together.

In the evening, Kamala would sit with us and we talked a lot; talked about our parents, that is her grandparents and her mother. She remembers her grandparents a lot.

She was quite busy at that time as President Biden had covid, and she was doing all the work. Still, she took some time off to be with us.

When we were there, my sister, who is a very good cook, prepared a lot of south Indian food. She not only cooked for us, but cooked a lot more and put them in Kamala's freezer because Kamala likes south Indian food.

She likes a special rasam which her husband also likes, she likes coconut rice, she likes puri aloo... So, Mahalakshmi made all of them and kept some in the freezer like the coconut mix for coconut rice so that Kamala can just cook rice and mix it with the rice.

What do you want to see for her?

I am not worried about the outcome of the election. I only want her to be happy.

See, you look at it from a parent's point of view. I am not ambitious enough to say that she has to become this and that. I only want her to be happy and content.

If she wins and becomes president, will you make a trip to the US?

If I am able to, provided my health permits, I will certainly go.

You must be very proud of her...

Even if she doesn't become a vice president or president, we are proud of her.

Yes, I will be happy when she achieves something in her life. But we will always be proud of her.

We are proud of her because she is a good child, kind and affectionate.

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com