Washington: Democratic Vice- Presidential nominee Kamala Harris in her Vice- Presidential acceptance speech on Wednesday at Democratic National Convention, she gave a special mention to her mother Shyamala Gopalan, who was born in Chennai and immigrated to the US for a doctoral programme at the age of 19.

During her speech touch upon the importance of families, a special shout-out to her “chithis” – a Tamil word which means “aunts” – is now winning her a lot of love from desi Twitter. Ms Harris, whose mother was from India and father from Jamaica, made history on Wednesday when she accepted the Democratic nomination for vice president.

Last week, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden picked Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate – a decision that made her the first Black woman and the first Asian-American woman to be selected as the vice presidential nominee of a major party in the US. “She raised us to be proud, strong Black women. And she raised us to know and be proud of our Indian heritage,” In her vice-presidential acceptance speech, gave a special mention to her mother, Shyamala Gopalan.

Ms Harris then went on to talk about her family, which includes her husband Doug, their “beautiful children, Cole and Ella”, nieces, godchildren, uncles, aunts and her chithis. “Family is my uncles, my aunts and my chithis,” said Kamala Harris.

The New York Times, in an article titled “How Kamala Harris’s Family in India Helped Shape Her Values”, said when Ms Harris was fighting the elections for California Attorney General, she called her aunt Sarala Gopalan in Chennai and asked her to break coconuts for good luck at a Hindu temple overlooking the beach at Besant Nagar where she used to walk with her grandfather.

Kamala Harris has spoken about her Indian roots and remembered her walks with her grandfather earlier as well. On Saturday, she took a trip down memory lane, recalling her mother’s attempts to “instill a love of good idli” in her and sister Maya and “long walks” with her grandfather in Chennai.

Her sister Maya Harris had marked her vice presidential nomination by sharing  an emotional video introducing the woman “who made it all possible” – their mother. “You can’t know who Kamala Harris is without knowing who our mother was. Missing her terribly, but know she and the ancestors are smiling today. #BidenHarris2020,” Maya Harris tweeted last week, sharing the clip which shows one of Kamala Harris’ speeches showcasing her mother’s heritage as a strong woman from Chennai who migrated to America to study science.