 "5 best Google doodles inspired by India")
You really have to be living under a rock, if you don’t know about Google’s famed doodles - and there’s one for every occasion (well almost!). While some of the interactive ones are a personal favorite, there’s no ignoring the simple ones that are plain endearing. While there have been many interesting ones over the years, here are five Google doodles that are inspired by India, handpicked by us.
April 16, 2013 - The 160th anniversary of the first passenger train in India
Celebrating the 160th anniversary of the first passenger train
You’ll see this one on the Google India homepage all day, today. So if you haven’t already, quickly go to Google.com, lest you miss the train (pun intended!)
The doodle is a simple affair, with a steam locomotive pulling a train. The engine forms the first “O” in “Google”. The whole doodle has an old-world charm and resembles an intricate painting. Looking at the open fields and palm trees around the train, it’s hard to imagine this scene is from Mumbai, but it very well could be and just goes to show us how much things have changed since the first train journey.
A little lesson in history: The first passenger train in India ran between Bori Bunder in Bombay and Thane on April 16, 1853, signaling a new era in travel and communication in the country. The train was pulled by three locomotives – Sultan, Sindh and Sahib and had about 400 passengers on board its 14 carriages. The journey of the first passenger train in India lasted for a good 57 minutes between Bori Bunder and Thane and had just one halt.
December 22, 2012 - 125th birth anniversary of Srinivasa Ramanujan, the mathematical genius!
A plain simple doodle, for the mathematical genius
The doodle in the memory of this genius was endearing, to say the least and it best described what Ramanujan lived for – his love for mathematics.
The doodle showed a young lad, believably young Ramanujan, on his fours, writing the mathematical constant Pi, which is approximately equal to 3.14159. The word ‘Google’ was thoughtfully etched out of the different formulas and other mathematical depictions.
January 26, 2012 - India’s 63rd Republic Day!
A fitting tribute!
When the nation woke up to celebrations upon completion of 63 years of having a Constitution, Google celebrated in away, it deemed best - a doodle!
Google got into the constitutional spirit and put out a Desi Doodle. The Doodle comprised three elephants, complete with howdahs, proudly marching across the Google logo and it was, of course, representative of the annual Republic Day parade that many of us have grown up watching on television.
September 17, 2011 - Birth of comic book creator and educationalist, Anant Pai (fondly called, Uncle Pai)
For the entertainer..
The doodle that Google had put out in the honor of Uncle Pai was very reminiscent of his comic styling. In the doodle, he appeared in two panels, one where he was shown sitting at his desk and the other where he was standing by a shelf of comic books. The Google logo was inscribed in the background across the two panels. If you looked carefully in the panel where he was standing, there was also a Tinkle comic near his right elbow with one of his more popular characters, Suppandi on the cover.
November 12, 2012 - Children’s Day!
Unity in Diversity – Can it be shown any better?
On Children’s Day last year, Google had yet another, colorful doodle spread out on its homepage. The doodle was created by Arun Kumar Yadav, from Chandigarh. He was chosen as the winner from among 13 finalists that Google picked from over 2 lakh entries that it received, as part of their Doodle4Google contest.
The topic was - India - A Prism of Multiplicity, and Yadav represented it with several elements that define India. It was clearly an enthralling one, and depicted the nation’s sport, arts, our national bird Peacock - all forming the words ‘Google’.
Which one among these is your favorite? Or, did we miss out something? Tell us in the comments section below.
Cover image credit: Getty Images
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