The first-ever Congressional Diwali celebration on Capitol Hill on Tuesday evening was a spectacular event by any measure, with the House of Representatives Rayburn Building lobby overflowing with over 500 members of the Indian American community, scores of United States lawmakers, administration officials and well-wishers ranging from leading American business and industry and policy wonks and think tank heads from some of Washington’s premier institutions. Aziz Haniffa reports.
One had to be there to marvel at the parade of lawmakers, including the Indian American community’s own, Dr Amerish ‘Ami’ Bera and administration officials.
They were led by the newly minted Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs, Nisha Desai Biswal, Maryland House Majority Leader Kumar Barve, being garlanded with fresh jasmine flowers, stamped with a tilak on their forehead and then making their way to light the diyas caparisoned with more flowers of all hues and colors.
And this parade continued even as the rock-star priest -- ever since he officiated in the White House Diwali celebration attended by President Barack Obama three years ago -- Narayanachar Lakshminarasihma Digalakote of the SriSivaVishnuTemple, which co-hosted the celebrated with the Congressional Caucus on Indian and Indian Americans, recited shlokas.
http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-in-photos-capitol-hill-celebrates-its-first-ever-diwali/20131030.htm
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