Today Pakistan celebrates its Independence Day and Google has contributed to our celebration by gracing Pakistan’s Google homepage with a nationalistic doodle for Independence Day.
The doodle depicts the Pakistan Monument, a blooming flower-shaped symbol of Pakistan.
Google puts a lot of thought into its Google doodles, producing between 300 and 400 doodles each year — around 50 of these tend to be moving or interactive.
Google often plans what doodles it will embellish its homepage with months in advance and often illustrators take weeks to perfect the selected designs.
The Pakistan Monument is one of Pakistan’s most prominent monuments.
Before its construction, the Pakistan Council of Architects and Town Planners (PCATP) held a competition to find the design which best represented Pakistan and its people and Arif Masood’s design was ultimately selected.
The giant granite structure is comprised of petals resembling a blooming flower which is meant to be a symbol of Pakistan’s blooming progress as a nation.
The four main petals represent the four provinces of Pakistan — Sindh, Punjab, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the three smaller petals represent the three territories Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.
The inner walls of the petals are adorned with murals based on designs from Islamic architecture and structures.
The central platform is designed in the form of a five-pointed star and is surrounded by water.
When seen from above, the structure resembles a star and crescent moon, representing the Pakistani flag, making the monument an adroit choice for a Google doodle and just perfect for Independence Day.
