New Delhi, April 27: Google on Friday celebrated freedom fighter, women's rights activist, Hindi poet and Jnanpith awardee Mahadevi Varma with a doodle.

On this date, in 1982, the Bharatiya Jnanpith honoured her with the prestigious award for her "outstanding contribution towards literature".

Guest artist Sonali Zohra has designed the doodle that shows the transformative poet busy penning her thoughts into beautiful verses under a tree by the field on a breezy afternoon.

Often referred to as 'modern Meera' for ushering in the era of romanticism in Hindi literature, Varma was born on March 26, 1907, in Farukhabad in Uttar Pradesh into an orthodox family.

Married at the tender age of nine in 1916, Varma remained at her parental home to continue her education at Crossthwaite Girls' School in Allahabad.

The spirit of a writer was kindled by Varma's mother who inspired her daughter to write in Sanskrit and Hindi, according to Google.

She penned her first verses in secret, while pursuing a master degree in Sanskrit. However, her roommate and friend, Subhadra Kumari Chauhan (a well-known poet) discovered her talent soon.

Varma is revered as one of the foundational poets of the Chhayavad movement in Hindi literature, the Google blog said. Her poignant poetry and essays, mostly centred around her feminist outlook.

In her biography "Mere Bachpan Ke Din" (My Childhood Days), Varma wrote that at a time when a girl child was considered a burden upon the family, she was very fortunate to be born into a liberal family. 

Her works appeared in magazines and books. Her collection of short stories "Sketches from My Past" portrays those women whom she encountered as the principal of an all-girls school. 

Though a firm supporter of women's rights, Varma also explored the topics of tradition and the past with great fondness, it added.

Varma was honoured with the Padma Bhushan in 1956, Sahitya Akademi Fellowship in 1979, and Padma Vibhushan in 1988. She passed away on September 11, 1987.

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Srirangapatna (Karnataka), Nov 24: The Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly R Ashoka on Sunday said the Congress party’s victory in the bypolls held for three assembly constituencies is not a clean chit to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the MUDA scam.

He said the case is still going on in the court of law.

“MUDA case against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is still in court but he is calling the bye-election result itself as a clean chit. Only courts can give clean chit and not the elections,” Ashoka said while addressing a gathering in Taggalli in Srirangapatna.

Later, speaking to reporters, Ashoka said results of the bypoll held for three assembly constituencies of Channapatna, Shiggaon and Sandur is a victory of money and not a victory of Congress. The BJP leader said his party’s fight will continue against the corruption of the Congress government.

ALSO READ; Have won in people’s court, says Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on by-poll results

Separately, in a post on social media ‘X’, Ashoka said the ruling Congress is under the illusion that they have won three worlds just by winning the by-election by diverting money and winning the votes of one community through appeasement politics.

He took a dig at Siddaramaiah for his statement that the opposition had spread lies with regard to the allegation of "Rs 89 crore embezzlement" in the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribe Development Corporation.

“Didn't you yourself admit in the Karnataka assembly that crores of money were misappropriated in the Valmiki Corporation, is that a lie?” Ashoka questioned.

He has also asked the CM whether returning of 14 sites by his wife Parvathi B M in the MUDA scam was an indirect confession of his crime. “Is it a lie when the Karnataka High Court loudly said that an investigation is needed against you in the MUDA scam?” the BJP leader asked.

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