Google Doodles

[Gopher Gary]

Today's Google Doodle is International Women's Day 2024



This Doodle celebrates International Women’s Day and all the progress that has been made towards gender equality. On this day in 1975, the United Nations celebrated International Women’s Day (IWD) for the first time.

March 8th commemorates two early Women’s Day demonstrations, one in Saint Petersburg, and the other in New York City. While in different years and places, these rallies had common goals of achieving gender equality including fair and safe employment, the right to vote, and the right to hold public office.

IWD marches today focus on issues like gender and racial wage gaps, reproductive rights, and the prevention of violence against women. Today, people celebrate women who have transformed society, fought for equality, and set positive examples for people everywhere.

The progress made by women over the years would not be possible without the courageous acts of those before them. Here’s to those who paved the way and to those who are carrying the torch further — happy International Women’s Day!

[Gopher Gary]

Today's Google Doodle is Celebrating Meena Alexander



In honor of US Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, this Doodle celebrates Indian American poet Meena Alexander. The artwork was illustrated by Los Angeles-based guest artist Anjali Vakil.

Alexander was born in 1951 in Allahabad, India. Her family home was in Kerala, but she spent most of her childhood in Sudan where her father was stationed as a visiting meteorologist. She excelled in school and began writing poems in both English and French.

At only 13, Alexander enrolled at the University of Khartoum. Although she couldn’t read Arabic, a local newspaper translated and published some of her poems. Alexander graduated with a degree in English and French and then pursued a PhD in England. She returned to India with a doctorate in British Romantic literature. While writing poetry, Alexander held faculty positions in Delhi and Hyderabad.

In 1979, Alexander moved to New York to work as an assistant professor at Fordham University. She went on to become Distinguished Professor of English at Hunter College and the Graduate Center at the City University of New York.

Among her early books, the novel  Nampally Road (1991) explored Alexander’s experiences and feelings in modern India. She published many well-received poetry collections, including  Illiterate Heart (2002) and Raw Silk (2004). With her signature cross-cultural perspective, Alexander dissected trauma and migration.

Alexander’s poetry and books have been translated into Malayalam, as well as Hindi, Urdu, German, Swedish, Arabic and Spanish. Illiterate Heart won the PEN Open Book Award in 2022. Her contributions to American literature earned her the Distinguished Achievement Award from the South Asian Literary Association. Her artful command of language continues to inspire poets to this day.