िहंदी साहड़ी दादी है ते डोगरी साड़ी मां, दादी थाऽर दादी है, ते मां थाऽर मां
डोगरी is akin to Dogra culture and heritage. It embraces the sweetness (because, Khand Mitthe Lok Dogre) as well as valour of Dogras. Dogras take pride in डोगरी, their mother tongue.
Pardon me for writing in English. (It is, apparently, considered the universal language for communication).
Maa Dogri, as Dogras lovingly call her, is spoken by majority in Dugger Desh, Jammu. Or, we believe it to be. Why? Because, people feel ‘uncool’ and ‘backward’, rather ‘graeen’, when they speak डोगरी.
The saddening trend of an aversion to डोगरी, called for efforts to promote and encourage the language, especially amongst youth. And, amidst the ongoing reclamation process, what could be better than using the most popular medium of communication in today’s day and age – WhatsApp, for restoring the glory of ‘साहड़ी डोगरी’.
25 Technoarts, an IT company based in Jammu, has developed an application titled ‘Dogri Stickers‘, which for now, enables you to WhatsApp stickers of famous Dogri phrases and Duggar personalities, to your loved ones.
With a tinge of humour, the app can well serve the purpose of acquainting people with Dogri, its popular phrases, and the Dogra milieu. It has opened vistas for others to come up with a unique fusion of technology, talent and love for Maa Boli Dogri.
For all the Dogras, it is indeed a ‘stand tall’ moment, to have an app dedicated to माँ डोगरी, which, along with Dogri literature, can be bequeathed to future generations, with a sense of accomplishment.
Dogri Stickers App
-> The 6.1 M sized app is available on Google Play store, and requires the person to have Android-based devices.
-> The app has stickers for some of the very popular Dogri phrases, from के हाऽल है to तेरा बड़ा मंदा लगदा, that make your conversations amazingly interesting and enriched.
-> Also, the app contains stickers of prominent Dogra figures, for instance, Maharaja Hari Singh, and Padma Sachdev.
-> One can also get a logo, or customised sticker for message/phrase/expression by contacting the developer team.
-> The app can be downloaded for free from here – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.technoarts.dogristickers
-> How to use Dogri stickers on WhatsApp:
- Install the app.
- Open the app.
- For now, the Dogri Stickers is available in three packs – two for phrases/slangs and one for renowned Duggars. (According to WhatsApp limitations, a pack can have 25 stickers at max.)
- Click on ‘+’ to add the stickers to Whatsapp. All of the packs can be integrated into your WhatsApp in one go.
- Confirm the action by clicking on ‘Add’.
- Open WhatsApp and go to any chat.
- Tap on the ‘smiley-face’ Emoji icon on your keypad
- At the bottom, you’ll have three options – smiley-face emoji, GIFs and stickers. Click on Stickers.
- The keypad will show the Dogri Stickers icon on the top.
- Click any sticker, and send right away!
आज गे लब्बो डोगरी स्टीकर ते डाउनलोड करो!
The brain behind Dogri Stickers – Divyavasu Sharma
Divyavasu Sharma, a software engineer by profession, and like every Dogra, is rightly proud of माँ डोगरी. Exploring a way to help propagate the language, he stumbled upon the idea to develop an app for डोगरी slang.
“For my engineering, I went to Punjab Technical University, that is when I realised that unlike Dogras, Punjabis are not hesitant in speaking in their mother tongue, Punjabi. They have made it reach national and international levels.”
“I believe, we owe a lot to our surroundings, that includes our culture, heritage, language and nature. Doing something for Jammu was always in my mind and WhatsApp, which has undoubtedly become an integral part of our daily lives, showed me the way to give an interesting touch to the most spoken language of Jammu.”
“Having a knack for language, I always look out to learn different languages. Besides English, Hindi and Dogri, I know Gujarati, Bengali, Gurumukhi. While visiting other states, I saw people using stickers in regional languages, to converse on social media. Thus, we developed an app titled ‘Dogri stickers’, for which, we are now receiving unprecedented feedback and suggestions.”
“When people message you to correct the spelling of some sticker, this shows an increase in the level of expectations from the app. It is our motivation to work harder towards constantly updating the app,” an overwhelmed Divyavasu says.
“Before finalising the graphics, we had to decide what is the purpose of each sticker, and how will it be used in the conversation. We have been very careful with every sticker that has been used in the app, to avoid any disgrace to the language. Honestly, we were little apprehensive about slangs, that they might look indecent, but God’s been kind to us.”
He shares a funny trivia, “Since Dogri Stickers are available on WhatsApp, people are using screenshots of the stickers on other social media sites. Recently, I saw a person had replied with a screenshot of Dogri Sticker ‘Tollo kusse passe da’, in response to Omar Abdullah’s tweet.”
“What I found more exciting is that the aged or educated people who didn’t approve of certain Dogri slangs or terms, such as ‘dael aie teri’, are now enthusiastically using them through Dogri Stickers.”
In less than a month’s time, the app is seen touching 15k download mark.
“Language should be flexible enough to adapt to contemporary times. The number of app downloads is Duggars’ love for their language, their Ma Dogri. The app has worked as a missing bridge between Dogras and Dogri.”
Regarding future plans, he says, “In the coming days, the app will be launched for ios-based devices. Work on more stickers is also under process, which will include famous places of Jammu, songs, rituals, festivals, foods and so on.”
Furthermore, they are working on an app where the text can be converted from Hindi/English to Takri, the original script for Dogri. “Why use Devanagari when we have Takri? Why not begin with making signatures in Takri?” He raises a valid question!
Kudos to people like Divyavasu, who are helping people rekindle their love for डोगरी and consequently, indigenous Dogra Culture, in their own little ways.
Also: Read my article at THE DISPATCH
Dogri Stickers now available on Google Playstore. Ajj ge install karo!
https://www.thedispatch.in/dogri-stickers-now-available-on-google-playstore-ajj-ge-install-karo-2/
Divyavasu Sharma – The brain behind Dogri Stickers app
https://www.thedispatch.in/divyavasu-sharma-the-brain-behind-dogri-stickers-app/
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