The most-used search engine on the Internet, Google dedicated its doodle on Tuesday to Muthulakshmi Reddi, one of the country’s first successful women doctors in the early 20th century and the first woman legislator, on her 133rd birth anniversary.

Reddi was born in 1886 in the princely state of Pudukottai. The doodle illustration by a Bengaluru-based guest artist, Archana Sreenivasan, shows the Padma Bhushan awardee (1956) carrying a book in her right hand, while her left is shown guiding other women in the background.

Despite several restrictions, Reddy completed her education and was admitted into the medical profession in 1912.

After her stint in the medical profession, Reddi joined the Madras Legislative Council in 1926 and became the first legislator in the country. In 1954, she founded the Adyar Cancer Institute in Chennai and died in 1968 at the age of 81.

“Constantly breaking barriers throughout her life, Reddi was a trailblazer, who devoted herself to public health and the battle against gender inequality, transforming the lives of countless people, especially young girls,” Google said in its description.

Sreenivasan said the main inspiration for this doodle was Reddi herself, adding: “I tried to get a sense of her energy, determination, and clarity to shape this doodle.”

The Tamil Nadu government declared July 30 as ‘Hospital Day’ to honour Reddi’s contribution to society and medicine.

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