Barack Obama lit a ceremonial Diwali lamp at the White House and wished everyone a "Happy Diwali and Saal Mubarak" to become the first US president to personally join an event celebrating the Indian festival of lights.
"This coming Saturday, Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and some Buddhists, here in America and around the world, will celebrate this holiday by lighting diyas, or lamps, which symbolise the victory of light over darkness, and knowledge over ignorance," said Obama at a ceremony in the East Room.
"And while this is a time of rejoicing, it's also a time for reflection, when we remember those who are less fortunate and renew our commitment to reach out to those in need," he added at the ceremony held for the first time in the main White House.
Although it was President George Bush who started the tradition of celebrating Diwali, he never personally joined the festivities in the Indian Treaty Room in the Old Executive Office Building, next to the main White House.
Obama then lit the traditional lamp with a candle as a Hindu priest with a three-forked tilak on his forehead chanted "Asatoma Sadgamaya" (Lead us from the unreal to the real, from darkness to light, from death to liberation) from the Upanishads.
Source: Economic Times
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