Thiruvananthapuram, Nov. 6 -- Nithya Raman, the Indian-American city council member who was elected mayor of California's Los Angeles on Thursday, has her roots in Keralam.

The 45-year-old defeated incumbent mayor Karen Bass to become the first South Asian to lead America's second-largest city, which is due to host the Olympics in 2028.

Raman was born on July 28, 1981, in Thrissur to Tamil Brahmin parents. Her family lived for decades in a lane adjoining the Ramaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram's Kottakkathu neighbourhood.

While her paternal grandfather, K Ramayyar, was a postmaster, her father, R Venkataraman, was employed at Keltron. Her mother, Sudha, was an employee at the Indian Overseas Bank. She emigrated with her parents to t...