KOCHI:As Tamilians and Malayalis prepare to ring in the new year with the festivals of Puthandu and Vishu, social networking site Twitter has rolled out a special emoji, adding to the celebrations. The first ever emoji for Vishu will go live on April 14 at 9 am and will be available until April 15. Various celebrities, including Mohanlal, will join in the celebrations by wishing people a Happy Vishu.
To encourage more people to join in the celebrations in their own language, people can tweet with Malayalam and English hashtags #HappyVishu, #HappyPuthandu and the emoji will appear. The emoji is designed to represent people celebrating Vishu by holding lamps which is symbolic of welcoming prosperity and happiness during the year.
Commenting on the launch, Keya Madhvani-Singh, Head of Entertainment Partnerships, Twitter India, said, “People visit Twitter to see what’s happening around the world and what everyone is talking about. We want to encourage more people to know about the diverse cultures in India, join in the celebrations and celebrate in their own language. We’re excited to celebrate Puthandu and Vishu with a special Twitter emoji which will be activated through English, Tamil and Malayalam hashtags.”
The new emoji adds to the number of customised emojis Twitter has created to celebrate cultural festivals in India, including significant moments such as Ganesh Chaturthi, Guru Nanak Jayanti, Ambedkar Jayanti and Diwali.