The Smarter Paan-wala: Building Local Knowledge Banks

A decade or two ago, the corner paan/ vegetable shop used to be the go-to person for local information. We can even say that they are the local knowledge banks throughout the country. Over the last decade, Google Maps, Whatsapp location sharing, and other advances in technology have seen a shift from reliance on corner shops. However, there are things still lost in translation and differences in language, accent, and other personal preferences make it harder to communicate certain information in absolute terms (crystal clear manner). We would like to explore solutions to this problem that are based on technology and/or social engineering. The project invites students to engage with their neighbourhood in a fun and quirky manner and find a way for the local shops (paan shop, tea shop or any other vendors) to become repositories of local information/ stories/ anecdotes/ legends. It also invites students to think of technologies that can be used to build these local knowledge banks. The final output that the students will present will be a solution (either a product such as a digital app/or a service) that will help the local vendors and visitors to the neighbourhood exchange information reliably and enjoyably.