Usha Chilukuri, Potential Second Lady of U.S., has a close Vizag connection

Usha Chilukuri, wife of J.D. Vance, has deep roots in Visakhapatnam, with her grandmother being a retired physics professor.

Usha Chilukuri, the wife of J.D. Vance, who was picked by Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump as his running mate, has a deep connection with Visakhapatnam — the city is home to her paternal grandmother Chilukuri Santhamma, 96, a retired professor of physics.

Having retired from Andhra University at 60, Ms. Santhamma continued to teach physics at Centurion University in Vizianagaram till the age of 93. Ms. Usha is the daughter of Chilukuri Radhakrishna, son of Rama Subramanya Sastry, who is the younger brother of Ms. Santhamma’s husband.

Expressing joy at her granddaughter’s husband being chosen as Republican nominee for the US Vice-President, Ms. Santhamma said that Radhakrishna had left for the US long ago and had settled there, and Usha was born there. “I wish all success for Usha and her husband. She should not forget her roots and her Indian origin,” she said.

At 96, the grit in her voice is evident as she tells The Hindu: “I will start guiding research scholars at Centurion University from Monday (July 22) onwards.”

Meanwhile, Dr. Sharada Jandhyala, a doctor in Chennai and Ms. Usha’s maternal aunt, recalls: “She would come to our house in Chennai as a kid. After a while, for a long time, they did not return to India. My brother Radhakrishna did his mechanical engineering from IIT Madras and his family later shifted to the US. I attended her marriage in the US.”