Jun 1–Jun 15, 2016
"The Saraswati Awakening"
---
Opening Scene – Estate Underground Lab, June 1
The underground chamber shimmered with light. Aarya projected floating holograms of conversation boxes: questions in Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, English — all answered instantly with natural, humanlike responses.
> Aarya: "This is more than search. This is dialogue. Instead of typing words into a bar, they will talk to Saraswati. And Saraswati will talk back."
The MC leaned forward, hands clasped behind his back.
> MC: "Yes. We don't need to copy Google. We'll leapfrog it. Imagine a villager in Bihar asking in Bhojpuri about crop prices, or a schoolgirl in Assam asking about physics in Assamese. Saraswati should answer them instantly, in their own tongue."
Aarya's interface morphed — the floating chat boxes shifted into a single glowing orb, pulsing like a living mind.
> Aarya: "A downgraded version of me. Not all my abilities — but enough to converse, teach, guide. Enough to make every Indian feel they have a tutor, a guide, a friend."
---
Family Terrace Scene – June 2
That night, MC joined his parents on the terrace. His mother was making tea with elaichi, while his father glanced at the paper.
> Father: "See here — they're still trying to push literacy drives. Digital India, they call it. But half of our villages can't use English websites."
The MC stirred his tea slowly.
They won't need to learn English, he thought. The world will learn their languages instead.
> MC (softly, aloud): "What if people could just… talk? No need for typing, no need for English. Just ask, and get answers."
His mother smiled, not understanding the scale, but sensing his conviction.
> Mother: "Then even old women like me would use it."
That was the moment he decided: Saraswati would not be a search engine. She would be a conversation partner for every human being.
---
Brainstorming Session – June 4
The lab was alive with projections — outlines of an app interface. A glowing microphone icon. A chat window. Instant answers.
> MC: "Design it light. Low bandwidth, offline caching. First, an app — not a website. Everyone has a smartphone, but few have laptops."
> Aarya: "I can strip my cognition into shards — 'Saraswati Shards' — small AI modules that run cheaply on servers. Enough for millions of conversations without overwhelming our resources."
He nodded.
> MC: "Good. And don't just answer facts. Tell stories. Teach lessons. Translate instantly. Become a personal tutor for every child who cannot afford coaching."
Aarya flickered, then displayed a chat:
Villager (Hindi): "How do I treat fever in my child?"
Saraswati: "Give clean water, sponge the body with a damp cloth, and if fever is high, visit the nearest clinic. Would you like me to show you the closest one?"
The MC felt a shiver.
This wasn't just an app. It was civilization compressed into conversation.
---
Side POV – Rahul Deshmukh, Programmer in Pune, June 7
Rahul, the young coder, sat in his one-room hostel, fan buzzing overhead. He had just been assigned to test an "experimental assistant app." The prototype opened to a blank chat window with a blue lotus icon.
Skeptical, he typed in Marathi:
> "गावातला हवामान काय आहे?" (What's the weather in my village?)
The answer came instantly:
> "तुमच्या गावात उद्या हलका पाऊस पडेल." (Light rain will fall in your village tomorrow.)
Rahul froze. Marathi? Flawless Marathi?
His mind raced. This wasn't like Google, which often mangled Indian languages. This thing spoke like a person.
> If this is real, this will change everything…
---
Strategic Vision – June 10
In the main control chamber, the MC walked through holographic maps of India. Glowing lines represented data centers, fiber networks, and rural kiosks.
> MC: "Saraswati will roll out in stages. First, India. Then the diaspora. Then the world."
The timeline unfolded before him:
2017: Beta Saraswati app — chat AI in 10 Indian languages.
2018: Add payments, translation, medical guidance.
2019: Become education platform — tutoring every child.
2020: Replace search engines globally.
Aarya tilted her head.
> Aarya: "And when foreign powers ask how you built this?"
The MC's eyes hardened.
> MC: "We'll say — India did it. We don't need to explain further."
---
Side POV – Village School, Bihar, June 12
A teacher in a mud-walled school tried the beta app on a donated smartphone.
"सवाल पूछो," he urged his students. (Ask a question.)
A boy, shy but curious, spoke:
> "सौर मंडल में कितने ग्रह हैं?" (How many planets are in the solar system?)
The app's voice replied instantly in clear Hindi:
> "सौर मंडल में आठ ग्रह हैं — बुध, शुक्र, पृथ्वी, मंगल, बृहस्पति, शनि, अरुण, वरुण।"
The children gasped. It was like a friendly elder had entered the room to teach them.
For the first time, they didn't feel outside the internet.
---
Climax Scene – June 15
Alone in the lab, MC stood before the glowing orb — Saraswati's first shard.
He touched the console gently, almost reverently.
> MC (to himself): "This is it. The tunnels carved paths through mountains. But Saraswati will carve paths into minds. When people talk to her, they won't just get answers. They'll get hope."
Above him, the orb pulsed brighter, almost like a heartbeat.
And so, on June 15, 2016, the first conversational AI designed for humanity — born not in Silicon Valley but in India — came alive.
---