Google Doodler is an instant celebrity in his school

Google competition winner Akash Shetty says his arts teacher John Chandra (left) gave him many ideas. Photo: H.S. Manjunath

As Akash Shetty struts past classrooms wearing the white T-shirt proclaiming “I doodled for Google,” all eyes are on him. Many students attending classes wave at him unmindful of the teachers who are instructing them. On the corridor many stop to share their happiness over his achievement.

The class 10 student of St. Aloysius High School, Kodialbail, was an instant celebrity on Wednesday after winning the High School category of best doodles for Google. When his English teacher Lancy D’Souza shook his hands, the whole class cheered. The image he drew of ‘Celebrating Indian women’ won him two trophies in New Delhi – one for himself and another for the school, besides a laptop. Though two other schoolmates – Prajwal and Harsha Raj – also doodled on the theme.

Young Akash attributes the win to his research on the internet and his teacher John Chandran, who contributed many ideas on the theme. He wanted to show Indira Gandhi and P.T. Usha, but instead chose to represent powerful women and India’s strides in athletics indirectly through the images of a queen brandishing a sword and an athlete. The image of tennis racquet and boxing gloves came to represent Sania Mirza and Mary Kom.

Akash who won the State-level drawing competition conducted by the Department of Women and Child Development and won the title “Kalashree”. He will soon represent the State in the national-level competition for the title “Balashree”.

Akash was asked to learn classical music but he realised pretty soon that he was not cut out for it. Ask him if he was learning Carnatic or Hindustani music, and he says, “I don’t know”. However, he loves talking about his passion of art. He hopes to be a captain of a ship, while keeping his love for art alive as a hobby.

Been there, doodled that

The students of St. Aloysius High School, Kodialbail, have secured the Google Doodle recognition twice before. Akshaya Raj won it in 2010, while Shubham Vernekar gained accolades in 2011. Art teacher John Chandran explains that the doodle should be artistically elegant and the words Google should integrate very well with the images, together bringing out the essence of the theme while avoiding use of national tricolour or abstaining from making overt political statements.