Sydney man's mum inspires him to develop an app that allows users to chat in Punjabi without typing

Struggling to type in Punjabi? Sydney-based Vinnie Pelia has developed an app that converts on-screen scribbles into images that you can send as texts with a simple click.

"My mother encouraged me to develop an app that allows users to chat in Punjabi without typing," says Vinnie Pelia Source: Vinnie

Highlights

• Sydney man develops an app that turns on-screen scribbles into pictures that can be sent as texts
• The mobile app can digitise input in multiple languages
• Vinnie Pelia says his mother inspired him to develop this app

Vinnie Pelia's ‘Catchups’ app allows users to scribble on their mobile screens in any language, including Punjabi that is then automatically converted into images that users can send as texts without the use of any keyboard.

Speaking to SBS Punjabi, the young developer said he was inspired to develop the app after he saw his mother struggling to send texts in her mother tongue, Punjabi - something that he believes many people find challenging with the advent of smartphones that do not have physical keyboards.

“One day I was walking past and saw my mum struggling on the mobile phone keyboard to chat with her sister in Punjabi. I took it as a challenge to help my mum, so she could text in Punjabi without using any keyboard," Mr Pelia said.

'I feel great that I could help my mother'

It took Mr Pelia a year and a half to develop and design the app. 

"I wasn’t a developer and had to watch many YouTube videos to understanding coding. I started working on the app in 2018 and the first six months were spent in learning as I was completely new to this world."

He added that it gives him immense satisfaction that he could help his mum to stay connected with her family.

“I have a great sense of satisfaction that I managed to help my mum and in turn many others who don’t want to use the keyboards," he said.

The App is for the community. We have tried our best to give them what they wanted to have; Vinnie Pelia Source: Vinnie

Mr Pelia who launched the app in the market in March last year said he continues to make changes to the app to make it better for the end-users based on their feedback.

“We had launched this app in March 2020 and since then we have been improving it. It is free of cost and is available to both Apple and Android users," he said.

To hear the full audio, please click on the audio player above. 

Listen to SBS Punjabi Monday to Friday at 9 pm. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.