It is always refreshing to see the art of Google’s Doodle team making doodles for each day about events and people in history. Following are the doodles for December 27, 2017.
Mirza Ghalib’s 220th Birthday
The most iconic poet of the Urdu Literature, Mirza Asadullah Baig Khan, popularly known with his alias Ghalib (which means conqueror) and also as Mirza Ghalib.
Born in Agra in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh in 1797, during the reign of Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah, Ghalib showed a gift for language at an early age and was educated in Persian, Urdu, and Arabic.
Ghalib’s life was turbulent and tragic as one could get. Orphaned at an early age, to losing all of his seven children in their infancy, to the political upheaval which surrounded the fall of the Mughal Empire in India. And all this was compounded by his financial struggle.
Although the life of Mirza Ghalib was full of hardships, you can find motivation in how he made a name for himself in the literature circles with his wit, intellect, and an all-encompassing love for life. His contributions to the Urdu poetry were truly appreciated after his death. The legacy left behind by Ghalib can be seen in the widely popular ghazals that are sung and recited in different colloquiums.
There are also a few doodle drafts that were under consideration to celebrate Mirza Ghalib’s 220 Birthday!.
There is a useful article about the life of Mirza Ghalib which is a must-read for anyone who wants to know more about this great poet.
Marlene Dietrich’s 116th birthday
Born on December 27, 1901, in Berlin, Germany, Marlene Dietrich had the given name Maria Magdalene Dietrich. In her teens, she gave up music to explore acting. She appeared in her first film, Tragedy of Love, in 1923. She explored notions of feminism with her femme fatale roles in films, such as in the film Morocco. She died on May 6, 1992, in Paris, France.
Dietrich rocketed to international fame from the moment she appeared in her breakout role as cabaret singer Lola-Lola in Germany’s first talking picture, Der Blaue Engel (1930) and its English version, The Blue Angel. The actress crossed the Atlantic soon after its premiere, continuing to work with Blue Angel director Josef von Sternberg in a string of memorable Hollywood films, including Morocco, Shanghai Express, and The Devil Is a Woman.
But Dietrich was more than a femme fatale with an unforgettable voice. Ever the risk-taker, she turned pat notions about femininity upside down, donning a tuxedo and top hat in her part as a sultry nightclub dancer in Morocco, and wearing men’s silk suits offscreen. A U.S. citizen as of 1939, she captivated World War II troops as a USO entertainer and was awarded the U.S. Medal of Freedom and French Légion d'Honneur for her wartime work.
Dietrich’s Doodle was illustrated by artist Sasha Steinberg who captured her mid-performance, suited up in her gender-bending tux and top hat. Steinberg, who is also a drag performer under the name Sasha Velour and winner of RuPaul's Drag Race (Season 9), counts Dietrich as a major influence in creating their drag alter ego.
“She was a wild original!” says Velour. “Despite the pressures of the time, she followed her own course, especially in terms of politics and gender. As a drag queen, that's particularly inspiring to me. Plus, she just had this power to her...in every role she's mysterious and strong, brilliant. That's what I aspire to be when I step on the stage.”
Do check out some of Sasha's early drafts of the Marlene Doodle!
Happy 116th birthday, Marlene!
You can learn much about the life of Marlene from this detailed biography!
Want to know more about me? Check out my introduction post!
