Screengrab of video showing White House military band playing 'Om Jai Jagdeesh Hare'
Credit: X/@GitaGopinath
IMF's Indian-origin First Deputy Managing Director, Gita Gopinath, on Thursday shared a clip showing the White House military band performing 'Om Jai Jagdeesh Hare' for Diwali.
"Wonderful to hear the White House military band play Om Jai Jagdeesh Hare for Diwali. Happy Diwali," she said on X, followed by an emoticon of a lamp.
US President Joe Biden on Monday hosted a Diwali celebration at the White House that was attended by more than 600 eminent Indian Americans, including Congressmen, officials and corporate executives from across the country.
A Diwali reception also took place on Wednesday, at which Indian-American Richard Verma, the Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, said, “I've spoken many times about the shared values between the United States and India and that's really what binds us together."
"There is no better holiday, no better celebration than this one that really brings out the shared values between us,” said Verma, the former US Ambassador to India.
Hosted by the US India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF) at the prestigious Kennedy Center, the reception was attended by senior government officials, members of the diplomatic corps, eminent Indian Americans and corporate executives.
In India, US ambassador Eric Garcetti shook a leg to Bollywood beats, ahead of the festival of lights -- videos of which went viral online. The 'bhangra' moves at the Diwali celebration at the embassy was much liked on social media.
The video was reportedly shot during a Diwali celebration event hosted at the US embassy a few days ago.
Gopinath, who was formerly the chief IMF economist, hails from Kolkata, and was born to a Malayali Hindu family from Kannur, Kerala. She studied at both the Delhi School of Economics and Princeton, in the US, and has a two-decade long academic career, which includes a stint at Harvard's economics department as well.
(With PTI inputs)