When many kids his age are memorising a3+b3 , Raghav Mecheri, a 14-year-old boy, studying in Sishya, has developed an app for Rubik’s cubes. This boy is a dream machine and that drives him find time to create apps though he has a hectic school schedule. I met with him and Raghav spared timed for talk more about his interests.
Q: How did you develop an interest for creating apps? Kids like us rarely have such kind of an interest.
Raghav: It is a long story. About two years back, my friend and I were passing time by playing video games. It was then I realised that we had finished most of the games and it was boring playing the same games again and again. So, we both sat up and decided that instead of playing games found by other people, why don’t we create games of our own? My friend asked, “Are you joking?.” I convinced him that we create our own games and that’s how it all began.
Q: What all apps have you developed so far?
Raghav: We are developing on many, but if you are asking finished apps that are in App Store, there is one named CubeMania+. This app was and still is our best, we feel. In our school, the Rubik’s cube was a mania. So I decided to create a Rubik’s cube app. In this app, you have reviews of the best cubes around the world, a timer and tutorials. Basically, this app is meant for Cube maniacs. I also developed another app called the Omniclick. This app was not as successful as our previous one, but it looked way better than CubeMania+. The mechanism is very simple. All you do is take a screenshot or a photo, edit it through Omniclick and send it through e-mail or Whatsapp etc. I got this idea when my friend came all the way from his house to deliver his homework. This gave an idea of creating this app. We have created so many apps, our very first being a calculator, but then it was useless. We are developing on many which are yet to be released.
Q: Where did you learn this formula or program to create apps?
Raghav: I learnt it from NIIT where there is a course for C++ and we sat on it and finished our course and started to develop apps.
Q: Have you developed any apps like Temple Run to kill time?
Raghav: I am currently developing on one. You will come to know about it when it is released in the App store. It is basically you have a gun and keep shooting birds. And if you are really pissed of something, this app has a special feature where you can replace the bird with the photo of your friend. All you need is a photo of him and you can keep on shooting him as much as you want. This app also allows people to pass time and I am sure it will make good entertainment.
Q: Do your parents support and encourage you in creating apps?
Raghav: Yes, my parents support me a lot. When I went and told my parents about this, they readily agreed and told me that they would support me as much as possible. But they also insisted that I concentrate on my school studies too.
Q: Have you decided your future plans?
Raghav: Not yet. I have not decided what to become. I still have a hard time deciding.