A recent social media exchange between billionaire industrialist Anand Mahindra and Zoho's Chief Scientist Sridhar Vembu has captivated netizens, highlighting the burgeoning 'swadeshi' messaging app, Arattai. The conversation commenced when Anand Mahindra, Chairman of Mahindra & Mahindra, expressed his pride on X (formerly Twitter) after downloading Arattai. He noted the indigenous app's potential to challenge Meta's WhatsApp in the Indian market, stating, “Downloaded Arattai today… With pride.”

The interaction quickly evolved into a heartwarming exchange. Sridhar Vembu responded to Mahindra’s post with gratitude, saying, “Thank you so much, this means a lot.” He then elaborated by quoting Mahindra’s tweet, explaining that a team member in their Tenkasi office, where Arattai engineers were refining the app, brought the praise to his attention. Vembu shared, “Thank you Anand Mahindra this gives us even more determination.” Anand Mahindra reciprocated this sentiment by quoting Vembu’s post, affirming, “We’re cheering for you, @svembu”.

Netizens reacted overwhelmingly positively to the interaction. One user commented, “I love it so much when one entrepreneur backs another. This is such an inspiring factor for us,” while another echoed nationalistic sentiments with, “Make in India, aatmanirbhar Bharat hamara.” The official Arattai account also acknowledged Mahindra’s initial post, welcoming him aboard and expressing gratitude for his support: “Welcome to Arattai, Mr Anand Mahindra. We are truly honoured to have you onboard and grateful for your support.”

However, the increased visibility also brought scrutiny. Some users leveraged Anand Mahindra’s spotlight on Arattai to highlight its current lack of end-to-end encryption for chats, a feature often considered critical for messaging privacy.

Beyond the direct exchange, Arattai and Zoho have garnered significant support from other prominent figures. Radhika Gupta, Chief of Edelweiss Mutual Fund, congratulated Arattai on reaching milestone users and establishing itself as a viable alternative to WhatsApp. A self-proclaimed