Google doodle celebrates Pahela Baishakh

Google, world’s most popular search engine, is celebrating Bangla New Year Pahela Baishakh.

Google introduced a special doodle featuring Mangal Shobhajatra for the Bangladeshi surfers, replacing its regular home page graphic.

The doodle, made visible from early Sunday, depicts the image of a giant tiger being carried by men in traditional Bangladeshi attire.

WHAT IS GOOGLE DOODLE?

Doodles are the fun, surprising, and sometimes spontaneous changes that are made to the Google logo to celebrate holidays, anniversaries, and the lives of famous artists, pioneers, and scientists.

In 1998, before the company was even incorporated, the concept of the doodle was born when Google founders Larry and Sergey played with the corporate logo to indicate their attendance at the Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert, according to doodle archive.

MANGAL SHOBHAJATRA, THE LARGEST SECULAR CARNIVAL

In 1989, the students of the Faculty of Fine Art (FFA) organised a colourful procession titled “Mangal Shobhajatra” -- literally translating to wellbeing procession -- on Pohela Boishakh. Since then, the students and teachers of Charukala have held on to the tradition.

Every year, the procession centres on a theme relevant to the country's culture and politics.

Since then Mangal Shobhajatr has become an integral part of the Bengali New Year celebration.

Recognised as the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2016, the vibrant and colourful procession is graced by tens of thousands of people from all walks of life.

This year, the motto for the Mangal Shobhajatra is Mostok Tulite Dao Ananta Akashe, an excerpt from Tagore's poem Traan, which roughly translates to Rising Above.