Celebrating Diwali in India for the first time in 20 years

Family is incredibly important to Suresh Gadamsetti, director of IT at Illumina—and there’s no better time to celebrate with his family than Diwali, the festival of lights.

Gadamsetti was born and raised in India, and his career has taken him on a round trip across the globe. After graduating from the Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management in Visakhapatnam, he moved to the US in 2004 to progress his career. In the years since, he has started a family of his own, becoming a father to two boys and working across the country.

He joined Illumina in late 2019 as a senior IT manager and was promoted to associate director in 2021. Then an opportunity came at the perfect time for him, when the opening of a new Illumina Global Capability Center in Bengaluru represented a chance to move back to India for the first time in decades.

“I was thinking about coming back, as my parents are getting older and I hadn’t spent much time with them for the past 24 years,” Gadamsetti says. “And thanks to the Illumina leadership who believed in me, they offered me the chance to lead the India site.”

For the past ten months, Gadamsetti has been driving efforts at the Global Capability Center, overseeing hiring, team building, and mentoring new employees. He collaborates cross-functionally with the departments there, helping to build its IT infrastructure from the ground up with the benefit of two decades of experience.

The prospect of moving one’s family across the world would be daunting to anybody, but Gadamsetti credits the company for how well the transition has gone—especially for his kids, who had never lived outside of the US.

“Illumina has been incredibly supportive,” he says, “which made my move back to India so much smoother. Returning after nearly 20 years—with all the changes for my kids, my family, and for me—the transition could have been very challenging. But Illumina took care of everything, end to end, and truly made the move easy for me.”

Diwali is the festival of lights in the Hindu religion; Jains, Sikhs and some Buddhists observe similar holidays at the same time of year. Also known as Deepavali, it occurs in early autumn over five days and symbolizes removing the negativity in one’s life, the victory of good over evil, and light defeating darkness.

Alongside the important religious aspects of the festival, Diwali is a time of celebration when families come together and take part in many rituals and gift giving. When asked what he enjoys most about the holiday, Gadamsetti says: “Diwali brings a sense of brightness and positivity that we all look forward to. Since childhood, it’s been my favorite festival; now, living in a community with nearly 400 families, it’s even more special, as so many people come together to celebrate.”

This year marks the first time Gadamsetti will celebrate Diwali since he returned to India, though he has fond memories of enjoying the festival in the US as well.

“We had a lot of fun last year, too,” he says. “We usually come to the office in traditional attire, exchange sweets or dry fruits and enjoy some fun activities—some even perform dances. We all come together to share a meal, making it a memorable celebration.”

To all who observe, no matter where you are in the world, Illumina extends its warmest wishes for a happy Diwali. ◆