US President Donald Trump lit a traditional diya to open a Diwali celebration at the White House on Friday, US time. At the Oval Office event, GOQii founder Vishal Gondal gave Trump a copy of the Hanuman Chalisa.
The Telugu link
The Indian Eye lists IBM CEO Arvind Krishna among the guests. He was born into a Telugu family in West Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh. He earned a B.Tech from IIT Kanpur in 1985 and a PhD from the University of Illinois in 1991. He has led IBM as CEO since April 2020 and as chairman since January 2021.
Other guests
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio, FBI Director Kash Patel and NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya.
- India's Ambassador Vinay Mohan Kwatra and Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra.
- Chef Vikas Khanna and former Canadian MP Ruby Dhalla.
"As the diyas were lit, my prayer was for friendship between India and America, and for the triumph of light over darkness," Gondal wrote on X. The US Postal Service printed 20 million Diwali stamps this year. The main Diwali day in India is Sunday, November 8.
