WASHINGTON, Nov 7: US President Donald Trump celebrated Diwali at the White House Oval Office, joining prominent Indian-American members of his administration, leading entrepreneurs and top business executives in the festivities.
The celebration took place on Friday, with Trump lighting a traditional diya in the Oval Office during a special gathering attended by several prominent personalities from the Indian-American community.
Among the distinguished guests were India’s Ambassador to the US Vinay Mohan Kwatra, celebrity chef Vikas Khanna, entrepreneur Vishal Gondal, Micron Technology CEO Sanjay Mehrotra, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna, FBI Director Kash Patel and US National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Arjun Mody, Deputy Commissioner of the Social Security Administration, were also present at the event.
Other notable attendees included Ruby Dhalla, President and CEO of Dhalla Group of Companies; Rajiv Sharma, Founder and CEO of Knack Systems; Viswajith Mallampati, President of Keshavam DC; and Hetalkumar Patel, who attended as a guest of the President.
White House Events Usher Arvind Chadha was also among those present.
The lighting of diyas at the White House has been a tradition for several years. In 2009, former US President Barack Obama became the first American president to light a diya at the White House during a Diwali celebration held in the East Room.
Since then, Diwali celebrations and traditional lamp-lighting ceremonies have been organised at different locations within the White House, including the Oval Office and the Roosevelt Room.
