The first thing I ask Banu Guler, the founder of the astrology app Co–Star, is whether she can read my chart. We swap phones to look at each other's profile. After we put our devices aside, she scrawls my astrological chart from memory into her notebook, a circle bisected by various lines like an erratically cut pie. There's a 90-degree square between my sun and my Mars, which is, she lowers her voice and chuckles, "rough." Apparently, it's the shape that represents "sad and temporary."

Ten years ago, I used my first post-college paycheck to meet an astrologer. Guided by a rickety stairway, I entered her Alphabet City apartment-turned-sanctum and was greeted by an eccentric Aquarius donning avant-garde garb (she had moved to New York in the 1980s and appeared to still be living in that era). A bathtub in the living room set the scene for a mystical encounter. However, the enchantment quickly dissipated as the reading commenced and I was handed a 33-page printout, which the astrologer read aloud. I had grown up in a household where astrology was a fervent topic of discussion, and I knew most of my planetary placements by heart.

Many would view astrology and technology as two extremes – one that originated millenniums ago and the other emerging as a disruptor only recently. They may be looked upon as opposites too, since astrology is based on the many ancient books and scriptures with human interpretation while technology is mostly about codes, software and machine learnings. Though existing at different ends of the spectrum, a Mumbai-based start-up has managed to become a matchmaker between astrology and technology by marrying the two in a manner that the knowledge of astrology is presented in the most easy-to-understand manner by using technology or algorithms. Taaraka was launched in January 2019 and since then has seen the traction rise significantly with the monthly growth numbers pegged in the range of 35 per cent to 40 per cent. So, what does Taaraka do exactly?

Bhrigoo is an artificial intelligence app that uses machine learning, deep learning, artificial neural network and AI voice based software. Just like you talk over your phone, using this app you can also talk to your AI astrologer directly. This kind of app has not been developed till date. We are glad that through this app, we are bringing the world-class technology for you and that too free of cost.The service of personal astrologer was limited to rich and wealthy people, because of this, they could take big decisions of life and make their life successful, prosperous and happy. With the Bhrigoo app, now the service is available to everyone.

Bhrigoo is an artificial intelligence app that uses machine learning, deep learning, artificial neural network and AI voice based software. Just like you talk over your phone, using this app you can also talk to your AI astrologer directly. This kind of app has not been developed till date. We are glad that through this app, we are bringing the world-class technology for you and that too free of cost.The service of personal astrologer was limited to rich and wealthy people, because of this, they could take big decisions of life and make their life successful, prosperous and happy. With the Bhrigoo app, now the service is available to everyone.

It all started some six years ago, when I was in the middle of switching careers and thus had a fair bit of time on my hands. My wife Priyanka (who, incidentally, also writes a column for this website) suggested that I use this time to learn astrology. At the outset, I'd been taken aback, and found the suggestion bizarre; for I've never been religious or superstitious, or shown any sort of inclination to believe in astrology. Yes, there was this one time when I had helped set up a numerology stall for a school exhibition, but even that wasn't particularly serious. Now, Priyanka has some (indirect) background in astrology.