Jamdani, Ikat, Kasavu and more: How Google's I-Day Doodle celebrates India's textile legacy

New Delhi: Google is celebrating India's 80th Independence Day with a colourful Doodle inspired by the country's rich textile traditions, highlighting its diverse regional crafts and cultural heritage.

The Doodle featured on August 15, 2026, brings together traditional Indian weaving and printing techniques in a vibrant textile-style patchwork.

According to Google, the artwork is a modified reissue of the iconic 2023 Doodle created by New Delhi-based artist and graphic designer Namrata Kumar. The 2026 version features an updated, enlarged font layered over digital textile swatches.

Designed as a visual tapestry, the artwork brings together crafts from different parts of India and celebrates the collective contribution of weavers, dyers and printers to the country's cultural identity.

The design incorporates several historic Indian textile traditions, including Jamdani and Ikat weaves, Ajrakh block prints and Benarasi fabrics. The wider textile collage also showcases Kani Pashmina from Jammu and Kashmir, and Kerala's Kasavu tradition.

Jamdani is known for its delicate geometric and floral patterns, traditionally woven into fine muslin. Ikat involves dyeing yarns according to carefully planned patterns before weaving them into fabric.

Ajrakh is a traditional block-printing technique that uses multiple layers and natural dyes. Benarasi textiles, associated with Varanasi, are renowned for their silk fabrics and intricate gold and silver brocade work.

The artwork also highlights Kani Pashmina from Jammu and Kashmir, which is woven using small wooden Kani needles to create colourful patterns on fine Pashmina wool.

Kerala's Kasavu, recognised for its cream-coloured handloom fabric and distinctive golden zari border, is another prominent tradition featured in the Doodle.

ALSO READ | I-Day 2026: PM Modi's 'Sapt Dhara' call to action from Red Fort

Google's Independence Day Doodles

Google has regularly marked India's Independence Day with Doodles celebrating the country's history, communities and regional traditions.

The 2025 Doodle, created by Boomranng Studio, showcased traditional ceramic art, including Jaipur Blue Pottery and Bengal Terracotta. The 2024 artwork by Vrinda Zaveri highlighted local celebrations and communities coming together to hoist the national flag.

Earlier Doodles have explored other symbols of India's freedom. The 2022 artwork featured skies filled with tricolour kites, while the 2015 Doodle paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi's 1930 Dandi March and the country's non-violent freedom movement.

India celebrates Independence Day on August 15, commemorating its independence from British rule in 1947. The day is marked by flag-hoisting ceremonies across the country, the Prime Minister's address from the Red Fort and other cultural celebrations.

This year's textile-inspired Doodle adds another dimension to those celebrations, using India's traditional crafts to showcase the country's cultural diversity and shared heritage.

 

ANI