Google honours Bharatnatyam maestro Rukmini Devi with a doodle

Search engine giant Google on Monday paid tribute to legendary Bharatnatyam dancer Rukmini Devi Arundale on her 112th birthday.

The doodle portrays Rukmini Devi in the traditional dance attire, with flowers in her hair holding up a mudra amid the trademark lettering of the search giant in trailing pink.

Born in 1904, Rukmini Devi realised the value of Bharatnatyam which was considered a low art in the early 1920s. Her upper caste status and strong public disapproval could not dampen her spirit for presenting the art form on stage.

She was one of the artists who worked for the re-establishment of traditional Indian arts and crafts and revived the classical dance form from its original "sadhir" style.

She, along with her husband, established her own dance academy Kalakshetra near Chennai.

Rukmini Devi was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1956 and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship in 1967.

She served as a Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) for two terms.

Rukmini Devi was also offered nomination as a presidential candidate by Morarji Desai in 1977 which she refused.