JD Vance gets a message from wife Usha's grandaunt ahead of inauguration

Ahead of his inauguration, US Vice President-elect JD Vance got a message from the 96-year-old grandaunt of his wife Usha, who congratulated the couple on their new role

Republican JD Vance will be sworn-in as the US Vice President along with President-elect Donald Trump in a mega ceremony on Monday evening. Ahead of the inauguration, Vance got a message from the grandaunt of his wife Usha, who congratulated the couple on their new role.  "I congratulate both of you for the excellent position you are now going to occupy. May God bless both of you and your country and my country," said Professor Chilukuri Santhamma, grandaunt of Usha Vance.

 

“We are related to Usha through marital relations. We feel extremely happy. We congratulate both of you on having a very, very happy conduct of the country’s destiny and the relationship of your country with our country. We feel extremely happy about the same and wish you a very long life and a happy, happy stay,” news agency ANI quoted her as saying.   

 

Nonagenarian teacher reflects

Santhamma, 96, lives in Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. Despite her advanced age, Santhamma continues to teach physics at a private university in Vizianagaram and travels 60 km most weekdays to university to teach physics, according to a Reuters report.

 

While Santhamma is delighted about her granddaughter becoming the Second Lady of the US, she rues the fact that she has never met her.

 

“I am happy for her. We never had the opportunity to meet, as her grandfather moved to Madras, and we relocated to Vizag many years ago. I believe that Rama Sastry's son's family left Madras and immigrated to the US. I was glad to understand that her husband was appreciative of her support for him throughout his life’s journey since their marriage. The ethos of the Chilukuri family is so strong, and she has naturally inherited all that and the values,” Deccan Herald quoted her as saying.

 

Usha Vance's Indian roots

 

Usha Vance, born Usha Bala Chilukuri on January 6, 1986, in San Diego, California, is the daughter of Telugu Indian immigrants from Andhra Pradesh. Her father, a mechanical engineer, and her mother, a molecular biologist, both pursued academic careers in the United States.

 

In his memoir ‘Hillbilly Elegy’, JD Vance calls his wife a “supersmart daughter of Indian immigrants” whom he met at Yale Law School. Raised in San Diego’s Rancho Peñasquitos suburb, Usha excelled academically, graduating from Yale University with a bachelor’s degree in history. She furthered her studies at Clare College, Cambridge, obtaining a Master of Philosophy in early modern history, and later earned her Juris Doctor from Yale Law School.

 

Usha's Indian heritage and Hindu faith have been integral to her identity. She practices Hinduism and has influenced her husband, JD Vance, in his spiritual journey, supporting his reconnection with Christianity. 

 

(With inputs from agencies)