Do you sometimes find that certain situations in life require a response in Konkani? (English doesn't quite cut it). Khorench doesn’t have the same ring as 'truly' and how do you translate the feel and tone of avois into another language? There's now an app that can help you express your emotions in amchi bhaas using Goan WhatsApp stickers.
Goan Stickers by BillyToons is an app containing 50 WhatsApp stickers of vivid cartoon characters and typical Goan phrases.
There are the common greetings: dev borem korum (thank you), koso asa (how are you), devborim rat dium (good night) and boã feast (happy feast).
There are exclamations: solid mure, patrao, sutlai re and fuloi.
One of them even takes a jibe at topical news: a nustekaan holding up a fish, saying ‘formalin free’.
Cartoonist Billy Fernandes, and William Britto came up with the idea for the stickers during a discussion over a cup of tea, in Dubai. “When WhatsApp launched the stickers a month back, we knew we had to connect it to Goa. We didn't find any Indian stickers so thought of creating our own. We wanted to make something that will have a digital connect with the Goan diaspora. The stickers are built around emotions, which are felt when you are away from your motherland,” says Fernandes. WHN Digital in Ucassaim worked on the app development and Fernandes created the characters. The app launched in November.
The stickers are a hit in the Goan community. In three weeks, there were 6,000 downloads and the app was #2 on social apps on Google Play Store. The aim is to have 100 stickers by the end of the year, and create an iOS app.
Article by Joanna Lobo
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