Swarachakra Odia Keyboard 2.01

Vidya Atai Mahadhan: Balake Kara Uparjan – Sri Utkal Gourab Madhu Sudhan Das. If your device displays this sentence in Odia accurately, it indicates that the device supports the Odia language and is likely compatible with Swarachakra. Alternatively, if the text is not visible or contains inaccuracies, it may suggest potential issues with Swarachakra's functionality.

Swarachakra Odia (ସ୍ଵର ଚକ୍ର ଓଡ଼ିଆ) serves as a touch-screen keyboard specifically designed for inputting text in Odia. The application extends its support to several other languages, including Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Punjabi, Bengali, Konkani, and Tamil. Notably, Swarachakra Odia employs a logically organized design that mirrors the structure of the Odia script (ଓଡିଆ ବର୍ଣ ମାଳା), presenting consonants in a sequence based on phonetic grouping arranged similarly to grids within educational materials.

Typing with Swarachakra Odia

In the Odia language (ଓଡିଆ), it is common to type combinations of consonants (କ) and matras (ମାତ୍ରା) (ା), exemplified by କ + ା = କା. Upon selecting a consonant, a chakra appears displaying frequent combinations of consonants alongside ten common matras (କା, କି, କୀ, କୁ, କୂ, କେ, କୈ, କୋ...). This chakra intuitively previews available character combinations; users can select their desired combination by sliding their finger or stylus towards it.

Typing conjuncts, such as କ୍ରି, ସ୍ଥ, ଚ୍ୟ, can be particularly challenging. However, Swarachakra simplifies this process. Initially, a user taps on the first character of the conjunct and selects the halant from the chakra (କ + ୍). Subsequently, Swarachakra provides a preview of all possible conjuncts starting with that consonant (for example, ସ + ୍ + ତ = ସ୍ତ; ସ + ୍ + ଥ = ସ୍ଥ...). Adding a matra is carried out similarly by selecting from the subsequent chakra (ସ୍ଥା, ସ୍ଥି, ସ୍ଥୀ, ସ୍ଥୁ, ସ୍ଥୂ...).

To type ref (ରେଫ୍ ଯୋଗ) (ର୍ଥ) or special characters such as phala (ফলাস) or adho bindu, first select the corresponding key located at the bottom right of the keyboard interface and then proceed with typing as usual.

The keyboard conveniently presents complete vowels (ଅ, ଆ, ଇ, ଈ, ଉ, ଊ, ଏ, ଐ, ଓ, ଔ) in a designated chakra positioned at the bottom right corner. Less frequently used vowels and matras are available adjacent to them (ଃ, ଂ, ଁ, ୠ, ୃୄ). For numerals and symbols as well as seldom-used characters, users can access a shift option. Additionally, there is an option to switch temporarily to a QWERTY layout for entering English characters.

Installing Swarachakra

The installation process for Swarachakra Odia begins with clicking on the “Install” button above. Following that step requires enabling the keyboard by navigating to “Settings,” selecting “Language and Input,” and checking the option for ସ୍ଵର چକ୍ର ଓଡ଼ିଆ. Lastly, in "Keyboard and input methods," users should click on “Default” and select Swarachakra Odia. This navigational path is necessary due to Android's operating framework.

NOTE: Swarachakra is designed specifically for Android version 4.0 (ICS) and newer systems. It is incompatible with older versions due to their lack of Unicode support.