section_path: Personal life/Family background
section_name: Family background
paragraph_text: Family background
  
  Usha Vance's parents are Telugu Kammas from the West Godavari and Krishna districts of Andhra Pradesh, India. Her paternal ancestry can be traced to Chilukuri Buchipapayya Sastri (c. 18th century), who lived in Saipuram in Vuyyuru mandal of Krishna district. A branch of her family later migrated to Vadluru near Tanuku in West Godavari district. Usha's mother, Lakshmi, is from Pamarru in Krishna district.
  
  Vance is related to Indian academics. Usha's paternal grandfather, Chilukuri Rama Sastri, taught physics at IIT Madras, and the institute now runs a student award in his memory. Her great-aunt Chilukuri Santhamma, who has never met Vance, resides in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, teaches physics at a private university, and has written an English interpretation of the Bhagavad Gita, a Hindu sacred text.
  
  Usha Vance's parents are Telugu Kammas from the West Godavari and Krishna districts of Andhra Pradesh, India. Her paternal ancestry can be traced to Chilukuri Buchipapayya Sastri (c. 18th century), who lived in Saipuram in Vuyyuru mandal of Krishna district. A branch of her family later migrated to Vadluru near Tanuku in West Godavari district. Usha's mother, Lakshmi, is from Pamarru in Krishna district.
  
  Vance is related to Indian academics. Usha's paternal grandfather, Chilukuri Rama Sastri, taught physics at IIT Madras, and the institute now runs a student award in his memory. Her great-aunt Chilukuri Santhamma, who has never met Vance, resides in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, teaches physics at a private university, and has written an English interpretation of the Bhagavad Gita, a Hindu sacred text.