White House Band Plays Bhajan At Biden's Diwali Bash, Grammy Winner Reacts

The White House military band played the devotional song “Om Jai Jagdish Hare” during Diwali celebrations at US President Joe Biden’s official residence. The video, shared by the first deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Gita Gopinath, features four members of the band playing the song on a piano, violin, cello, and drums.

“Wonderful to hear the White House military band play Om Jai Jagdeesh Hare for Diwali. Happy Diwali,” Ms Gopinath wrote.

The video garnered over 4,000 likes and heaps of praise from Indians.

Wonderful to hear the White House military band play Om Jai Jagdeesh Hare for Diwali. Happy Diwali 🪔 pic.twitter.com/lJwOrCOVpo

— Gita Gopinath (@GitaGopinath) October 31, 2024

Indian-American composer and three-time Grammy Award winner Ricky Kej said that the rendition of the song was “nicely done”.

“Great arrangement, and the violinist did all the glissandos pretty well,” he said.

Mr Biden hosted a Diwali celebration at the White House on Monday. The event was reportedly attended by more than 600 Indian Americans, including Congressmen, officials, and corporate executives, from across the country. Indian-origin American astronaut Sunita Williams, who is currently stuck on the International Space Station, also joined the event through a video message.

However, Vice President Kamala Harris and First Lady Jill Biden could not attend the celebrations due to the ongoing US Presidential campaign trails.