WATCH: White House military band plays own version of ‘Om Jai Jagdeesh Hare’

The White House military band gave a twist to ‘Om Jai Jagdeesh Hare’ during a Diwali event on Wednesday. The band played a new version of the ‘aarti’ at the event attended by International Monetary Fund (IMF) First Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath.
Gita Gopinath shared a video on X and captioned it: “Wonderful to hear the White House military band play Om Jai Jagdeesh Hare for Diwali. Happy Diwali 🪔”
Gopinath attended the Diwali celebration organised by US President Joe Biden at the White House on Wednesday. She posted a picture of on Instagram and wrote: “Thank you President Biden @POTUS for a warm celebration of Diwali at the @WhiteHouse- celebrating light over darkness and knowledge over ignorance. Happy Diwali!.”
US President Joe Biden hosted a Diwali celebration at the White House on Monday that was attended by more than 600 eminent Indian Americans, including Congressmen, officials and corporate executives from across the country.
“As President, I’ve been honoured to host the biggest Diwali receptions ever at the White House. To me, it means a great deal. As Senator, Vice President, and President; South Asian Americans have been key members of my staff. From Kamala to Dr. Murthy to so many of you here today, I’m proud that I kept my commitment to have an administration that looks like America,” Biden said in a standing-only packed East Room of the White House.
A Diwali reception, hosted by the US India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF) at the prestigious Kennedy Center, also took place on Wednesday. Speaking on the occassion, 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,” Verma, the former US Ambassador to India, was quoted by PTI as saying.
Diwali is being celebrated in many parts of India on Thursday, October 31. However, in some states, the festival is observed on November 1.
Diwali symbolises the victory of good over evil and commemorates Lord Ram’s return to Ayodhya after his victory over Ravana. North India celebrates Deepavali to mark the arrival of Lord Rama to Ayodhya. However, in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, Deepawali is celebrated to mark the day when Goddess Satyabhama and Lord Krishna killed demon Narakasura.
It is celebrated annually and falls on the 15th day of the month of Kartik – the darkest night of the year, according to Hindu lunar calendar. The celebrations of the widely celebrated festival usually take place in October or November, according to Georgian calendar.