By R Anil Kumar
Washington/Bengaluru, November 6. US President Donald Trump celebrated Diwali at the Oval Office in the presence of prominent Indian-American members of his administration, entrepreneurs and top CEOs, including Sanjay Mehrotra of Micron Technology.
India’s Ambassador to the US Vinay Mohan Kwatra, celebrity chef Vikas Khanna, entrepreneur Vishal Gondal, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna, FBI Director Kash Patel, and US National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya were among those present at the celebrations on Friday.
The celebrations began with President Trump lighting a diya in the Oval Office during an intimate gathering that included Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Deputy Commissioner of Social Security Administration Arjun Mody.
Among those present were Ruby Dhalla, President and CEO of Dhalla Group of Companies, Rajiv Sharma, founder and CEO of Knack Systems, Viswajith Mallampati, President, Keshavam DC, and Hetalkumar Patel, a guest of the President.
White House Events Usher Arvind Chadha was also present at the celebration.
“A moment of shared light in the Oval Office,” Gondal, the founder and CEO of GOQii Technologies, said in a post on X.
“Honoured to celebrate Diwali with President @realDonaldTrump and proud to gift him with a copy of the Hanuman Chalisa, Tulsidas’s hymn to Lord Hanuman that millions of us recite for courage, devotion and strength,” he said.
Gondal, sharing photographs of the celebrations, said as the diyas were lit, his prayer was for friendship between India and the US, and for the triumph of light over darkness.
The tradition of having a Diwali celebration was started by President George W Bush in 2003.
Earlier, the ceremonies were mostly held in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in the presence of Indian-American community members and Indian diplomats.
In 2009, President Barack Obama became the first president to light a diya (lamp) at the White House, during a ceremony in the East Room.
Since then, lamp-lighting ceremonies have been held in various locations in the White House, including the Oval Office and the Roosevelt Room.
