Google Doodle honours legendary Maharashtra artist 'Pu La' on his 101st birthday

On November 8, Google commemorated the Marathi writer and humorist Purushottam Laxman Deshpande with a catchy, vibrant doodle illustration designed by artist Sameer Kulavoor on Deshpande’s 101st birthday. Widely known as ‘Pu La’, the legendary Indian writer, playwright, musician, composer, actor, director, and philanthropist sparked a popular culture in India’s Maharashtra with his literary work based on humour and satire. Google honoured the accomplished film and stage actor with a doodle that depicted him playing melodies seated across a harmonium tweaked to illustrate books, portraying the significant contributions he made in Marathi literature. 

“Renowned for his signature style of joyful humor and satire, Deshpande brought smiles to the faces of countless readers and audiences with his multifaceted contributions to Marathi literature and the performing arts,” Google wrote in the description to the doodle.

Further, it informed, that the historic writer was born on this day [November 8] in 1919 in Bombay, present-day Mumbai, India. Google paid respect to Deshpande’s prolific collection of writing which included novels, essays, comedy books, travelogues, children’s plays, and one-man stage shows—much of which saw massive popularity, particularly in his home state of Maharashtra. It said that throughout his long and varied career, the Indian artist inspired many with his acting in dozens of films, many of which he directed himself and his other musical and literary composition.

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“Happy birthday, P. L. Deshpande, and thank you for sharing your humor and harmony with the people of Maharashtra and beyond,” Google said. 

Multi-talented, towering, and legendary figure

Speaking about why the doodle was meaningful and his thoughts when he approached the project, artist Sameer Kulavoor said, one comes across Pu La Deshpande's name and works constantly in popular culture - music, writing, films, theatre, literature, and more in Maharashtra. Calling ‘Pu La’ a sharp observer of life, Kulavoor cited his literary work as an example. “There is a wildly popular Marathi song we were exposed to as kids in school called Naach Re Mora (dance peacock, dance) - I learned much later (to my surprise) that he composed the song,” he said, reminiscing. Kulavoor called designing the doodle an honour, adding, that the personality he listed for doodle was a multi-dimensional, multi-talented, towering, and legendary figure and highlights several forms of creativity. 

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