White House military band plays ‘Om Jai Jagdish Hare’ rendition on Diwali, Gita Gopinath reacts

Gita Gopinath posted a video of the White House military band playing ‘Om Jai Jagdish Hare" on the occasion of Diwali.

Gita Gopinath, the first deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), took to X to share how a video of the White House military band playing ‘Om Jai Jagdish Hare" on the occasion of Diwali.

Washington: First Deputy Managing Director of the IMF Gita Gopinath during Diwali festival celebrations at the White House, in Washington DC, USA.(PTI/Image via @GitaGopinath on X)

Om Jai Jagdish Hare is a widely revered Hindu aarti song, dedicated to Lord Vishnu, one of the principal deities in Hinduism.

"Wonderful to hear the White House military band play Om Jai Jagdeesh Hare for Diwali. Happy Diwali," Gita Gopinath wrote on X while posting the video. She had attended the Diwali celebrations at the White House hosted by US President Joe Biden on October 27.

In an earlier post, Gita Gopinath shared pictures of the Diwali celebrations 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!”

The Diwali celebrations at the White House was attended by over 600 including Congressman Shri Thanedar, US Surgeon General Vice Admiral Vivek H Murthy and others beside Gopinath.

“As President, I have been honoured to host the biggest Diwali receptions ever at the White House," Biden said, addressing the gathering. "To me, it means a great deal. As Senator, Vice President, and President; South Asian Americans have been key members of my staff.”

Who is Gita Gopinath?

Gita Gopinath has been serving as the first deputy managing director of the IMF since January 21, 2022, after having held the post of chief economist of the IMF from October 2018.

Before that, she was an academic at Harvard University's economics department for two decades and was an assistant professor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.