KOCHI: Many still believe that their day depends on the quote they pick from a gospel box set, irrespective of their religion. Thrissur-native Kiran Parameswaran, founder and CEO, Castingkall, found these gospel boxes to be popular among many youngsters. He talked to his friend Adheesh Thalekkara on digitalising it. Soon, Adheesh came out with the ‘My Word’ app, through which one can get to read the biblical verses online without actually carrying the box.
One can get his/her gospel for the day by clicking on the ‘get quote’ icon after downloading the app. One can choose the quote in either English or Malayalam. “We have used ‘predictive algorithm in the app. The verse is chosen depending on the mood of the person. An astrology algorithm has also been added to the predictive algorithm. I gave an idea to Adheesh and he gave a visual form to it,” says Kiran.
Over 1,000 quotes have been added to the app in both languages, which Kiran says was quite challenging. “The verses needed to be free of spelling and grammatical errors. The user interface also needed to induce a ‘divine’ feel. We were particular that it should be different from other apps which do the same.” He added that they are working on more improvements on the app.
“Our aim is to provide the app in all regional Indian languages. However, it is a tedious process as we are not well-versed in all the languages and the quotes need to be error-free. We will be integrating features like artificial intelligence so that the results will be more accurate,” said Kiran. The app has been recieving good response on the Play Store. “Everyone has a smartphone and can access the app freely. Many said it gives the same feel as using a gospel box. We will be introducing the app in more languages soon and the iOS version is also in plans.”
Kiran mentioned that the popularity of gospel boxes has increased during the Covid-19 lockdown period.
“Many people are depressed. So, reading a verse could change their mood and bring positivity. It would be a great achievement for us if we could bring a smile on someone’s face,” he said.