NH Dini’s 84th Birthday

“Literature is actually nutritious food for humans’ souls and minds. It is the basic foundation of humanity, a reflection of society, reality, knowledge, and wisdom,” said Indonesian novelist NH Dini, whose life and work are celebrated in today’s Doodle, illustrated by Jakarta-guest artist Kathrin Honesta.  

Born in Semarang, Indonesia, on this day in 1936, Nurhayati Sri Hardinia Siti Nukatin (known by her pen name NH Dini) grew up listening to her mother read stories from local magazines and went on to become a prolific author. Resisting the traditional role of women established by Javanese patriarchy, much of Dini’s work focused on gender issues and her belief that “a woman, wherever she lives, deserves to be treated equally and respectfully.”

In the 1950s, while Dini was working as a flight attendant for an Indonesian airline, she met her husband, a French consul to Japan. Throughout their marriage, the two moved around the globe and lived in Cambodia, Japan, France, the Philippines, and the U.S. 

Inspired by her international travels and relentless pursuit for women’s rights, Dini devoted her life to writing and published dozens of novels, short stories, and poems over her 60-year career. Through works such as “Pada Sebuah Kapal” (“On a Ship,” 1985), and “Namaku Hiroko” (“My Name Is Hiroko,” 1986), Dini’s fiction continues to empower women today.     

Here’s to a writer whose words live on in the hearts and minds of readers around the world.

Guest Artist Q&A with Kathrin Honesta

Today’s Doodle was illustrated by Jakarta-based guest artist Kathrin Honesta. Below, she shares her thoughts behind the making of this Doodle:

Q: Why was this topic meaningful to you personally? 

A: N.H.Dini’s work was so advanced in the years that they were published. They represented the total opposite sides of women that are not often reflected in public, especially in the early days of Indonesian custom, where most women are shown to be meek & submissive. I really admired her boldness, and I think she is super cool! 

Q: What were your first thoughts when you were approached about the project?

A: When I did more research about N.H. Dini, I was fascinated by her accomplishments & her work. Not only are the main characters in her books are some really strong and independent women, but I also learned that her books are more like memoirs than fiction. They are all heavily inspired by events in her real life stories. They are so personal. It’s like giving everybody access to look in your diary.

Q: Did you draw inspiration from anything in particular for this Doodle? 

A: I was heavily inspired by the connection between N.H. Dini, her books, the stories she wrote, and the iconic book covers where I draw my color palette from. For this Doodle particularly, I based the Doodle from her classics such as ‘Pada Sebuah Kapal’ (‘On A Ship’). This book is often mentioned as one of her best works. The story is about a woman named Sri, who lives an unhappy marriage, and  falls in love with a captain of a ship. There are theories that explain that Sri is actually N.H. Dini herself. “Sri” is her real middle name, and the details of the story are so similar to her true life. So for this Doodle, I illustrated N.H sitting beside a porthole, as if she was in a ship, writing her memoir.

Q: What message do you hope people take away from your Doodle?

A: I am just very honored to help commemorate N.H.Dini in this Doodle. I feel that not many youngsters recognized her contributions to Indonesia's literary scene. I hope that with her being highlighted in this Google Doodle, even more people (especially younger readers) could start to pick her books up & learn more about her.

Early concepts and drafts of the Doodle