HYDERABAD: Youngsters throng the city’s religious structures, not because of a sudden rush of devotion but to catch
It’s not exam time. Or even Indo-Pak World Cup final. How come there has been a surge in the number of youngsters visiting temples in the city last week? Naah, they haven’t turned devout overnight. It’s because temples, mosques, churches and statues and other destinations have transformed into ‘Pokestops’ or ‘Gyms’ in the augmented reality game Pokemon Go, which has taken the world by a storm.
Pokemon Go is an augmented reality mobile game which mixes real world elements along with your mobile app. In this game, the goal is to catch different Pokemon creatures which appear in the real world as computerised graphics. In essence, you can find a Pokemon in your morning cup of coffee, in your garden, at your office desk or even your bathroom. The game has become a worldwide phenomenon and has turned its developers, Niantic, inc, into billionaires overnight.
Even though Pokemon Go is officially yet to hit the stores (Play store and iStore) in India, it has already become a sensation here, with people downloading its APK version off the net and starting their hunt to catch Pokemons. Interestingly, religious structures have been chosen by the app developers as the key places in the game. Almost all temples, mosques and churches in the city are either Pokestops (where users can collect Pokeballs to help collect Pokemon, and other prizes) or Pokemon Gyms (Where you can train your Pokemons and battle it out with other characters).
Pokemon Go has now got people of all age-groups scouring the streets for rats, snakes, dragons, eggs, birds and a variety of other Pokemon monsters. And the biggest attraction in the city seems to be temples. Vasantha Kumari, a resident of Kukatpally, was shocked to see her 14-year-old son outside a Ganapati temple. “My son always makes a fuss whenever there is a pooja at home or if we take him to a temple. When my husband and I saw him outside the temple all on his own, we freaked out. It was only later that we found out that this was actually some computer game that he’s playing,” shares Vasantha.
Dr Nagender Rao, a city-based physician, had a similar story to tell. “Normally I yell at my kids because they are always rushing off to malls on weekends and holidays. But yesterday, my son told me that he was going to a temple. Obviously I didn’t believe him but he said I can drop him there and see for myself. So I took him to the Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple where he readily got off the car and went inside. It was only when he came out staring at his phone that I smelt a rat and caught him,” he laughs.
Apart from religious structures, statues across the city have also been made as Pokestops, and are often crowded with students. Malls too, have been a big hit. “If you look at it, it’s a smart thing to make religious structures as Pokestops or Gyms, since there are temples and mosques all over the city. That way, it adds more depth to the game and encourages people living across all parts of the city,” observes Ashwin Athrey, an engineering graduate.
Even as parents grudgingly come to terms with this global obsession, many of them have welcomed the game since it brings about a lifestyle change in the youth. “Most video games make children turn into couch potatoes. This one encourages them to walk. My son has walked 10 kilometres today hunting for Pokemon and walking can only be a good thing,” points out V Ravishekar Rao, a maths lecturer at St. Mary’s College. “A word of caution though, don’t try to catch Pokemon on busy roads and certainly don’t play the game while driving,” he added. With the official App expected to hit stores in India very soon, Pokemon Go is only going to get bigger. Go catch ‘em all!