Indian village prays for astronaut’s safe return

American astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore have been stuck in space for 107 days and will not be able to return to Earth until February at the earliest. People in Williams' home village in India are praying for their safe return. Roxy Gagdekar Chhara of BBC Gujarati reports.

The residents of Jhulasan in the western Indian state of Gujarat are proud that Williams has a connection to their village.

The village was once the home of Williams' father and grandparents. The astronaut visited the village three times after successful space missions – in 1972, 2007 and 2013.

Wilmore, 61, and Williams, 58, launched on an eight-day mission on June 5 but became stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) after their Boeing Starliner spacecraft encountered problems. They will now return to Earth with SpaceX in February 2025.

In Jhulasan, locals pray daily for William's safe return and keep an oil lamp burning as a symbol of their hope. They have organised a space-themed exhibition to mark her 59th birthday on Thursday and hope she will return after another successful mission.

Jhulasan, a village of 7,000, is filled with memories of Williams' connections. A library named after her grandparents still stands, albeit in poor condition, as does the ancestral home of her father, Deepak Pandya. Pandya, a neuroscientist, died in 2020.

At a school where Williams donated money during one of her visits, a picture of her grandparents hangs in the prayer room. When Williams was honored at the school in 2007, her relative Kishore Pandya had the opportunity to meet her.

“I went up to her and said with my limited English, 'I am your brother.' She shook my hand and said, 'Oh! My brother!' I still remember that moment,” he said.

Williams' father moved to the United States in 1957 to study. There he met Ursuline Bonnie, married her, and in 1965 they had Williams.

Seven years later, the family visited Jhulasan for the first time since Deepak Pandya left. It was a solemn moment for the village and they gave the family a warm welcome by taking them around in a procession.

Bharat Gajjar, 68, who was working as a carpenter at the time, recalled the event fondly. “I still remember young Sunita and others riding camels through the village,” he said.

Madhu Patel is part of a group of women who pray for Williams daily at a local temple.

“We are proud of her achievements. NASA and the government should do everything they can to bring our daughter back safely,” Ms Patel said.

As they await her return, her work and words continue to be a source of inspiration for many. Manthan Leuva, who is studying for a banking exam, remembers one of Williams' speeches.

“She said, 'Love what you do and you will succeed.' I find that thought deeply inspiring,” he said.