Google Doodle gives Tagore's birthday a miss

Tributes pour in across platforms as nation celebrates the poet's 154th birth anniversary

Even as Rashtrapati Bhavan on Wednesday reverberated with singer Kamalini Mukherjee’s tribute to Kaviguru Rabindranath Tagore, Google users in India got a bitter surprise. On the day of his 154th birth anniversary on Thursday, Tagore was conspicuous by his absence from the search engine’s famous doodle feature.
 
Besides having an epoch-defining influence on Indian art, music and culture, Tagore was the first Nobel laureate from the sub-continent, and indeed the first non-European to be given the honour.
 
For a generation that keeps track of its calendar events through Facebook notifications and RSS feeds, Google doodles normally serve as a good reminder. Featuring on these doodles is often seen as an indicator of an event’s importance.
 
Also, with Google’s near-omnipresence across the globe and its customised region- and culture-specific catering, its doodles become a determiner of how important a nation/region’s specific events are in global context.
 
Ignoring the birthday of ‘India’s own Bard’ did not go unnoticed by netizens; several posts across social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter conveyed surprise, even dismay.
 

 

@Google didn't create any doodle in honor of Rabindranath Thakur (Tagore) #sad also #chrome shows Rabindranath as a wrong word #sadagain

— Rifat Nabi (@rifat) May 8, 2011

 

Rabindranath Tagore's birthday being celebrated today.. Not even a google doodle? @nikesharora

— Gargi Rawat (@GargiRawat) May 9, 2013

On other media platforms, however, Tagore’s birth anniversary received its due fanfare and celebration. Acclaimed Rabindrasangeet singer Kamalini Mukherjee performed in front of a select audience, including President Pranab Mukherjee, at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
 
According to several news reports, a TV serial recounting the life of Tagore’s wife, Mrinalini Devi, was in the making as of April 20, and scheduled for a release shortly. Inspired from Tagore researcher Ranjan Bandyopadhyay’s book, Ami Robi Thakurer Bou (I am Rabi Tagore’s Wife), the serial will focus on more intimate and less-known facts about the poet. It will feature actor Indrasakshi Nag as Mrinalini Devi, Priyam as Tagore, and noted scriptwriter-actor Padmanabha Dasgupta as Jyotindranath Tagore (Rabindranath’s mentor).
 
Tagore’s importance in today’s context also stems from the reach of his work, transcending across boundaries. He happens to be the only poet in the world to have penned national anthems for two countries — ‘Jana Gana Mana’ for India, and ‘Amar Sonar Bangla’ for Bangladesh.
 
His style of poetry, thoughts and writing is also said to have inspired the writings of the likes of the famous modernist Irish poet William Butler Yeats. His artwork, mostly inspired by the works of Scrimshaw from northern New Ireland, Haida carvings from British Columbia, and Max Pechstein’s woodcuts, went on to influence artists across the world, notably the colour schemes in Salvadore Dalli’s later works and Pablo Picasso’s shape arrangements.
 
Tagore’s birthday also saw tweets from several important Indian leaders and artists. Here are a few:

I bow to Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore on his birth anniversary. pic.twitter.com/olcyvH6EOI

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 7, 2015

Today on the birth anniversary of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, let us pay our respectful homage to this great son of India

— Arun Jaitley (@arunjaitley) May 7, 2015

My tribute to the author of the Indian National Anthem & Nobel laureate Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore on his birthday. pic.twitter.com/C3YlUU62ta

— Ravi Shankar Prasad (@rsprasad) May 7, 2015

The prominent works of Tagore