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A haiku in Hindi

Write poetry with strangers from around the world on this app, and earn 'karma' points

On the app’s home page you can see the jams started by people from around the world.
On the app’s home page you can see the jams started by people from around the world.

It’s necessary

to draw the line between

determination and desperation

This small poem might look like the thoughts of just one person, but this haiku (titled Balance) has been written by three users on HaikuJAM, an app that lets users write poetry together.

All a user has to do is jot down a few words and watch other users add to their thoughts. Whatever you write becomes a jam—a poem by three people. Inspired by the haiku, each jam is three lines long.

On the app’s home page you can see the jams started by people from around the world. You can start your own or add to someone’s thought. Once a jam is complete, it can be saved or shared on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp.

“There’s a lot of creative demand in India. With HaikuJAM we have shown poetry can be accessible. Right now, it supports 120 languages. Initially, even though most jams happening on the app were in English, a lot of people were making groups on the app and jamming in Urdu, Malayalam and Telugu," says chief executive officer and co-founder Dhrupad Karwa.

Karwa adds that the app will now be localized in Hindi. Once a user picks Hindi as their preferred language, everything from the jams to the app’s user interface will be personalized in Hindi. This would help the app reach out to a lot more users in India. “Ninety per cent of our user base is in India," he adds.

Once you are part of a jam, it shows the other users who are writing with you. Jams are also thematically curated and can be found in the “Explore" section. Karwa says all positive contribution to the HaikuJAM community is reflected in “karma" points that can be used to unlock new features in the app.

HaikuJAM is available for free on Android and iOS.

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