India's 78th Independence Day: A Tribute By Google Doodle

Independence Day 2024: India is celebrating its 78th year of independence today. Google marked the day with a special doodle illustrating architecture in India. The doodle, created by freelance art director, illustrator and animator Vrinda Zaveri, features six doors and windows that depict the country's rich architectural heritage. It represents traditional Indian designs with beautiful detailing in several colours including blue, yellow, green, saffron and brown. It also has a small design depicting India's national bird- the Indian Peacock.

The tech giant posted, "Today's Doodle, illustrated by Vrinda Zaveri, celebrates Independence Day in India! On this day in 1947, India gained its freedom from colonial rule."

"On Independence Day, many attend flag-raising ceremonies, parades, musical performances, community rallies, and more to celebrate. Homes, buildings, streets, and cars are decorated with the saffron, white, and green national flag - as seen in today's artwork," they added.

In 1947, India achieved freedom from the British colonial rulers after a long struggle. Independence Day is a national holiday to commemorate and remember the sacrifice of freedom fighters who fought for our country's independence.

Last year, Google marked the day with a special doodle illustrating textiles from 21 different regions. It featured a patchwork ensemble of India's beautiful textiles. Illustrated by New Delhi-based artist Namrata Kumar, the artwork was inspired by a range of textiles that India offers, weaving the varied "swatches" into a vibrant story of India.

The doodle depicted swatches of weaves drawn from Kutch embroidery of Gujarat to fine 'ikat' work of Odisha and 'Pashmina kani' woven textile of Jammu and Kashmir to 'Kasavu' weave of Kerala, covering regions across the country, placed next to each other in a textile grid of sorts, with 'GOOGLE' depicted in the centre with embroidered letters. Artist Kumar on Google's portal said she "researched and identified the diverse textile craft forms present in India".

"I sought to cover a broad spectrum of techniques, encompassing embroidery, different weaving styles, printing techniques, resist-dyeing techniques, hand-painted textiles, and more. Additionally, I wanted to ensure that I represented different geographical regions of the country in a balanced manner," she said.