Made-in-India social media platform - Koo - has launched an initiative to enable devotees to connect digitally with temples and spiritual centers across India through ‘India Spiritual Journey’. The first leg of the Journey, covering 4000 kms, will bring prominent temples and spiritual centers from across Uttarakhand digitally closer to devotees. This is a first-of-its-kind initiative by any social media platform in India.
Owing to pandemic-induced lockdowns and temporary closures of temples over the last two years, e-darshans have witnessed a significant uptick on social media. With spirituality and allied topics being one of the most searched areas of interest on the internet, this campaign will empower spiritual leaders and temple trusts to build a connection with devotees across India, share updates, and engage with followers in their native language - all on a real-time basis.
Pratik Khedkar, an avid biker and employee of Koo, will cover a distance of 4000 kilometers starting from Madhya Pradesh to Uttarakhand. Pratik is a part of Koo’s Operations Team, and will visit key pilgrimage sites in the Himalayan state, including Haridwar, Rishikesh, Uttarkashi, Gangotri, Yamunotri and Badrinath. The journey will end at Gaurikund, which is the base camp for the Kedarnath trek. This campaign has gained support from Uttarakhand Tourism, and aims to help temple trusts and spiritual centers across the state to harness the social media revolution which is currently transforming the world. The ‘India Spiritual Journey’ will gradually be extended to pilgrimage centers across India.
Riding his bike across the region, Pratik said, “I am grateful to Koo for giving me an opportunity to be a part of this campaign. ‘India Spiritual Journey’ has helped me rediscover myself and has connected me with people who are spiritually inclined. Through this campaign, we aim to bring this experience to millions of users on Koo. The experience of traveling through some of the most secluded areas of India against majestic snow-capped mountains, pine forests and visiting ancient temples has been nothing short of divine.”
Koo has over 100 verified spiritual accounts on the platform, including those of prominent gurus like Swami Avdheshanand Giri, Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev. The platform has seen a significant rise of 50 percent in verified spiritual accounts on the platform in the last quarter. Spiritual leaders actively koo and interact with their followers in local languages by leveraging the platform’s unique multi-lingual feature. The feature facilitates the real-time translation of messages across the slew of languages currently available on the platform, thereby amplifying reach. Chat Rooms and Live features help to raise the digital connect between temples and devotees, with over 47 percent of spiritual accounts having amassed more followers on Koo, than on any other micro-blogging platform in India.
A Koo Spokesperson said, “As a land rich in ancient cultures and traditions, India is home to centuries-old temples where devotees seek solace. Through this campaign, our aim has been to create a spiritual social network where serious discussions are heard. By being ‘digitally available’ through social media, temples and spiritual centers can now engage and interact seamlessly with devotees. Over time, Koo has developed a strong spiritual community where users can express and share their thoughts through pictures, videos and text related to spirituality or provide motivational quotes. As a multi-lingual platform which democratizes the voice of India, we are confident that this campaign will go a long way in enabling both temples and devotees to participate in the digital transformation which is re-shaping the world.”
