JHULASANA, Gujarat: Indian-American astronaut Sunita Williams was given a resounding welcome by people of her ancestral village during her visit here.

On the occasion, Williams gave an inspirational speech saying that borders were only in the mind and that she was amidst many future astronauts here.

"I am a bit old now as an astronaut. Here I see many future astronauts," she said in her brief speech made in English, which was translated in Gujarati for the benefit of the villagers. "Planet Earth looks beautiful from space.

There are no borders on the Earth," she said, recounting her space experience of record (for a woman) 195-days aboard the space shuttle Discovery.

Sunita Williams, arrived in Ahmedabad on September 20 on a week-long visit to India. She was welcomed by her father Deepak Pandya and uncle Vitthal Pandya at the Sardar Patel International Airport.