People of Jhulasan village of Gujarat, the homeland of NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, are waiting anxiously for her safe return to Earth and are making elaborate preparations for grand celebrations similar to Diwali and Holi.
Williams will return on Wednesday morning after serving over nine months on the International Space Station (ISS). The villagers have kept her on their minds, and they have an Akhand Jyot (perpetual flame) burning for her safe return since the start of her mission.
A grand procession will be organized in her honor, according to her cousin Navin Pandya. “Her picture will be taken in procession from a school to the temple where the Akhand Jyot is lighted. Students and villagers will participate in prayer chanting,” he said. The flame will be kept burning until she makes a safe return to Earth.
There has been excitement in Jhulasan ever since Williams went on her third spaceflight. People in the villages are expecting she will come and visit them after she returns. “We will invite her. It would be a big honor to have her back at her native village,” Pandya added.
Williams’ father, Deepak Pandya, originally hails from Jhulasan but migrated to the US in 1957. School principal Vishal Panchal said students had been offering prayers for 15 days, chanting Ram dhun for her safe return.
Williams and astronaut Butch Wilmore are returning aboard a SpaceX spacecraft after their seven-day mission was extended due to a Boeing test flight failure. With 62 hours of spacewalking across nine missions, Williams holds the record for the most time spent spacewalking by a female astronaut.
Villagers are making extensive preparations to celebrate her return, with plans for a future rally and temple prayers in her honor.
