Trump celebrates Diwali with Indian-Americans, receives Hanuman Chalisa as gift

US President Donald Trump marked Diwali at the White House on Friday, hosting a gathering of prominent Indian-Americans, members of his administration, business leaders and senior executives. The celebrations at the Oval Office also saw entrepreneur Vishal Gondal present Trump with a copy of the Hanuman Chalisa.

The gathering brought together several prominent Indian-origin figures, including Micron Technology CEO Sanjay Mehrotra, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna, FBI Director Kash Patel and US National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya. India's Ambassador to the US, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, celebrity chef Vikas Khanna and entrepreneur Vishal Gondal were also among the attendees.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Deputy Commissioner of the Social Security Administration Arjun Mody joined the celebrations, which began with Trump lighting a diya inside the Oval Office.

Hanuman Chalisa presented to Trump

Gondal, founder and CEO of GOQii Technologies, shared photographs from the event on X and described the occasion as a moment of shared celebration.

"A moment of shared light in the Oval Office," he wrote.

He also spoke about gifting the US President the religious text, which is widely recited by devotees of Lord Hanuman.

"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 added that as the diyas were lit, his prayer was for friendship between India and the US and for the triumph of light over darkness.

Other guests 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, a guest of the President. White House Events Usher Arvind Chadha was also present.

How Diwali celebrations became a White House tradition

Diwali celebrations at the White House date back to 2003, when then President George W Bush introduced the tradition. Initially, events were largely held at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building and attended by Indian-American community representatives and Indian diplomats.

In 2009, Barack Obama became the first US President to light a diya at the White House during a ceremony in the East Room.

Since then, the annual lamp-lighting celebrations have been hosted at different locations within the White House, including the Oval Office and the Roosevelt Room.