‘Pinakin’ guides you inside Goddess Meenakshi’s abode

The user-friendly mobile app puts Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple in Madurai once again on top

August 31, 2016 04:49 pm | Updated September 21, 2016 12:07 am IST - MADURAI:

FOR METROPLUS, MADURAI, 30/08/2016. : Free Audio Guide Poster's at Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple in Madurai. Photo: S. James

FOR METROPLUS, MADURAI, 30/08/2016. : Free Audio Guide Poster's at Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple in Madurai. Photo: S. James

As a father of two curious teenaged kids, engineer-turned-software professional Srikanth Iyer loves taking them out on holidays to historical sites and places of importance. But there is always a difference he finds and dislikes when he is travelling abroad and within the country. “Lack of proper information,” he says, “just kills your enthusiasm when you are on a domestic circuit.”

The turning point came two winters ago when he was visiting the Taj Mahal with his family. “We failed to find a proper guide who would quench our thirst for information and knowledge,” he says and rues further, “hiring a guide was expensive and the required details did not come out of him. He was in a hurry to finish his round with us and take on new tourists to earn more money.”

The superficial approach left him thoroughly disappointed and after returning Srikanth resolved to research what his home State Tamil Nadu – which (along with Maharashtra) gets the highest number of tourists in the country – offers. Born and brought up in Nagpur, he launched himself on an extensive travel across South India in 2015. “The brilliant temples of Tamil Nadu studded with sculptures, paintings, inscriptions and architecture bowled me over,” he says and he started thinking of ways to make a traveller’s experience better. A mobile app appeared to be the best solution.

After months of research, data collection and trial runs, Srikanth readied enough material on about a dozen temples in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka (the latter because he launched his software company Aseuro Technologies in Bangalore four years ago). On top of his list were the Srirangam Temple at Trichy (the world’s largest active temple spread over 154 acres) and Madurai’s Meenakshi Temple.

Srikanth chose to move ahead with Meenakshi Temple first for two reasons. “After spending three days simply observing people and the proceedings inside the temple, I found the place to be extremely vibrant. People coming as devotees, pilgrims, tourists and visitors simply intrigued me,” he says. Srikanth also appreciates the temple management for beautifully maintaining the 18 acre niche property. “I was impressed by everybody’s enthusiasm to do something new and different that would take the temple to a new level,” he adds.

And so he developed the free-to-download mobile app suitably named Pinakin (another name of Lord Shiva carrying the bow). The app in English, Hindi and Tamil has been designed to act as an audio guide to the Meenakshi Temple and perhaps is the first such app for temples in India in multiple languages, says Srikanth.

In the text written and narrated by him, Srikanth has combined history, mythology, science and architecture in a simple language that from a child to a senior citizen, all will easily understand. Divided into different components, the self-help guide details and explains 23 important spots inside the temple.

“I am not a city guide,” he makes it clear, “but whoever comes to Madurai Meenakshi Temple will get all interesting facts, details, background information about the temple and get to hear the myriad stories and miracles associated with it.” “Language is a powerful tool that connects people,” says Srikanth, who has tried to make the audio-visual journey memorable for every visitor and also ensure people see the temple like they have never seen it before. Statistics say 15,000 people daily and 25,000 people visit the temple on weekends.

“The convenience of exploring the temple free and on their own will also make them return often,” says Srikanth.

What Srikanth says:

“A visit to any temple is not just about praying to God. There is so much more attached to it. Every temple is a repository of history, a treasure house of our vibrant rituals and customs and beautiful culture and add to it the splendid architecture and the myriad stories…but all the marvel is getting lost over a period of time. With my mobile app Pinakin, I hope to change the way people think about their visit to temples.”

How it works:

Log on to www.pinakinapp.com to register your mobile number or you can download the app from playstore on all android phones. Once you choose your language, the app takes you through a little over 1.5 hour journey across the temple’s four main towers, the 1000-pillar hall, the golden lotus tank, the ashta shakti, mudali pillai and kambathadi mandapams, the sanctum sanctorum of Goddess Meenakshi and Lord Sundareswarar. It also lists the do’s and don’t’s, temple timings, dress code, parking, eateries and toilet facilities near the temple.

Once downloaded, you can listen to the app offline and first time visitors can benefit from the introduction on the city and the temple. It is a comprehensive checklist of everything a traveller requires. A location map guides the visitor, who can enter the temple from any side and start from any of the 23 spots listed. There is no rigid sequence followed. This makes the walk around and learning more enjoyable as you gather tidbit of information on the way.

In little over a week of the launch, 2,500 people have already downloaded the app and it is continuing at a rate of 100 per day, according to Srikanth. “I have made a beginning and it appears the idea has been welcomed by people,” he says.

Coming shortly

Soon Pinakin will also be at Belur Temple, Mysore Palace, Tanjore Big temple, Hampi, Mahabalipuram, Kanchipuram, Halebidu Temple, Government Museum Bangalore.

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