Google Doodle celebrates Pahela Baishakh

Search engine giant Google is celebrating Pahela Baishakh, the first day of Bengali New Year 1425, with a special doodle featuring the colourful Mongol Shovajatra, the procession of good wishes.

The calendar was originally commissioned by the Mughal Emperor, Akbar, who introduced the calendar to facilitate tax collections in the spring-just after the harvest. 

Pohela Boishakh is a time to start fresh. People often celebrate by cleaning their entire home and decorating it with Alpana, a colorful painting made from rice and flour paste.

The holiday is best known for its colorful celebrations and parades, like the one that takes place in Dhaka, (the capital of Bangladesh) every year. 

In Dhaka, streets are filled with people who come to take part in the Mangal Shobhajatra procession.

The procession was first organized in 1989 by the Faculty of Fine Arts at Dhaka University in order to symbolize peace and unity regardless of religion, gender, class, or age. 

Google Doodle is a special, temporary alteration of the logo on Google’s homepage that is intended to celebrate holidays, events, achievements and people. The doodle was introduced in 1998.