India Ki Udaan: Achieving the milestones the country has achieved in its 75-year journey since independence, software major Google has unveiled an online project, drawing from rich archives and to tell the story of India. Featuring artistic paintings.
The project executed by Google Arts and Culture – “India Ki Udaan” – celebrates the country’s achievements and is “based on the unwavering and immortal spirit of India over these last 75 years”.
It was officially launched at a glittering event held at Sundar Nursery in Delhi on Friday in the presence of Union Minister of Culture and Tourism G Kishan Reddy and senior officials of the Ministry of Culture and Google.
Google Launches “India Ki Udaan”
As part of countrywide celebrations commemorating 75 years of independence, Google also announced its collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, which “focuses on accessing informational online content that reflects contributions from Indians and since 1947.” The ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav‘ event showcases India’s growth to the government’s year-long support, the software giant said in a statement.
It also announced that its popular Doodle4Google contest for 2022, based on “In the next 25 years, my India will be…”, is now open for entries for students of classes 1-10.
“The winners of this year’s Doodle4Google will see their artwork on the Google homepage in India on November 14th and win ₹5 lakh college scholarship, ₹2 lakh technology package for their school or non-profit organization, recognition of achievement, Google Hardware and Fun Google Collectibles. Four group winners and 15 finalists will also win exciting prizes,” it said.
Mr Reddy urged the Google team to create a special doodle on “Har Ghar Tiranga“, which would encourage its employees and others to participate enthusiastically in the campaign.
In his speech, the minister also said that Google can help the culture ministry in digital mapping the boundaries of its over 3,000 centrally-protected monuments that will help in better monitoring of sites and checking encroachments.
He added that it can also help in digitization of rare archival material.
“Therefore, we urge the Google team to be a partner in the government’s transformational journey as well as promote India’s tourism destinations,” said Mr. Reddy.
India Ki Udaan
The statement said, “On the completion of 75 years of India’s independence, Google announced the launch of a series of special initiatives across its products and services, especially for the occasion to mark the anniversary year of millions of Indians content and experience.” ,
The centerpiece of its celebrations is a new online collection titled “India Ki Udaan“, available on the Google Arts and Culture website. It pays tribute to the rich cultural history of India and includes iconic moments from the last 75 years.
Published in English and Hindi, it allows people to explore more than 120 paintings and 21 stories created by 10 talented artists along with exhibitions from various institutions including the Ministry of Tourism, Museum of Art and Photography, Directorate of Indian Heritage, Railways, Indian Academy of Sciences and Dastkari Haat Committee.
“This initiative offers a unique view of India’s remarkable moments and allows people to discover some of the most memorable moments in India’s modern history, its iconic personalities, its proudest scientific and sporting achievements, and how women in India are in the world. This memorial will continue to inspire people in India and around the world to expand the collection with a unique blend of creativity and artistry.”
75 Years Of Independence
Merging technologies and India’s rich cultural heritage, the new Google art and culture collection, “India ki Udaan“, (literally translated as “India takes flight“), has been “India’s unbroken and immortal in these last 75 years” based on emotion“, it added.
Google Arts and Culture Senior Program Manager Simon Rein told PTI that the project “marries rich archival material with the artistic talent displayed by the artists“.
A physical representation of the new digital collection along with kite-shaped digital screens, augmented reality experiences and other tech-driven experiences were also installed at the venue.
Rein said the kite has been used as an “optimistic metaphor” to describe India’s travels over the past 75 years, as well as to educate visitors at home and those who are not from India but want to know about its story.
