Log on to laugh

It all started with a joke-session at a friend's party last year. That's when the idea struck Sunil Verma to create a website dedicated to jokes. "One of our Oriya friends was feeling low at the party and we were trying to cheer him up with wacky jokes. I realised then that it would be great to have an online platform to share jokes in different regional languages," says Sunil, a Delhi-based IT professional.

Dulzu.com, a website recently launched by Sunil and his team of 20 professionals lets users record, upload and share jokes in English as well as other Indian regional languages. "We wanted to do something different, other than merely sharing jokes in the written format. The essence of the jokes is often lost when read. So on Dulzu, you can actually listen to jokes in your mother tongue and share them with your friends too," he says.

Currently, there are more than 500 jokes in 35 regional languages and dialects uploaded on the site. The popular languages range from Hindi, Bengali and Punjabi to even Gujjari, Haryanvi and Himachali. "The whole point is to provide content that is otherwise rare. But listeners can also report jokes that are not in good taste. Also, we want to gradually expand the dulzu platform to include stories and educational information," informs the 36-year-old founder-director.

To get started, one has to simply register on the site to record a joke. One may even upload previously recorded jokes. This month, the website will also launch its own app for Symbian, iOS and Android-based mobile phones. "Also, by the end of the year, we plan to integrate Dulzu on the telecom platform as well. We're just keeping our fingers crossed for now," Sunil signs off.