While the world came to a standstill during the COVID-19 lockdown, senior Damodar Kamani’s world was just beginning to expand. Like many teenagers, he spent hours on social platforms trying to stay connected with friends. However, instead of just chatting, Kamani found inspiration in the technology powering these platforms, and his curiosity soon transformed into an obsession.
“I remember a period of time where I would sit for, like, eight hours a day, just coding. It became an addiction, and I’d dream about the next thing I wanted to build. I had a strong fire and desire to build something creative,” Kamani says.
His first major project, a Discord bot designed to provide real-time COVID-19 data, became an unexpected success.
“During the pandemic, I was heavily using Discord to connect with friends and to talk to people, and I saw these autonomous Discord bots. You could type a command asking for COVID stats, and it would return global and country-specific data on the pandemic,” Kamani explains.
Over 18,000 users across 100+ Discord communities eventually adopted his bot, making it one of his earliest impactful projects.
As he transitioned into high school at Carnegie Vanguard, Kamani initially treated coding as a side pursuit.
“I was focused on academics, hanging around study groups, but I’d always have these side projects going on,” he says.
One of his most meaningful projects emerged from his connection to his Hindu temple community. Along with a friend, Kamani co-developed an app called “Bhav,” aimed at making religious practices and traditions more accessible through technology.
“For Hindus who follow fasting traditions or read the Bhagavad Gita daily, it is difficult to keep track of fasting times or scripture readings,” Kamani explains. “Every year, our temple would hand out paper calendars with important dates, but there was no easy way to access that information on the go.”
To solve this problem, Kamani and his team built Bhav, an app that sends users daily Bhagavad Gita verses, prayer reminders, and personalized fasting schedules based on their geolocation.
“We wanted to take something traditional and integrate it with modern technology to make it easier for people to stay connected to their faith,” Kamani says.
The app, developed using Swift for iOS and React Native for Android, quickly gained traction within the Hindu community. Karuna Diedericks, a Hindu devotee at Kamani’s temple, shares her thoughts on its effectiveness.
“The app is helpful as it sends me notifications to remind me to fast. I also like that it has a counter feature that helps with chanting Hindu verses,” says Diedericks.
Kamani recalls a surreal moment when he visited a Hindu temple in New Jersey and asked members if they had heard of Bhav.
“Everyone I asked said they used it. They even showed it to me on their phones,” he says, laughing. “They had no idea I had built it. That was when I realized this app was actually making an impact.”
Having seen the power of technology firsthand, Kamani decided to find ways to use his programming skills for social good. An opportunity came to him in the way of TreePleish, a nonprofit that aims to empower students to create more sustainable schools by hosting community tree planting events.
“I started as a TreePlenish intern for three months before receiving a part-time return offer the summer after my junior year. My role involved programming the sign-up and login system for registration authentication, as well as aggregating data on TreePlenish events nationwide,” Kamani recalled.
Ultimately, whether it’s providing critical pandemic information, streamlining religious practices, or supporting sustainable nonprofits, Kamani believes that technology can play a crucial role in empowering communities.
“Starting local is the best way to create impact,” he says. “When you work on something niche, like Bhav, it’s easier to connect with people and build something meaningful. Technology isn’t just about building cool things — it’s about solving real problems. That’s what drives me.”
As he continues his journey, Kamani hopes to pursue opportunities that blend his technical expertise with social impact. He hopes that his story inspires other CVHS students to follow their interests.
“Strive for academic excellence, but remember that your story doesn’t end there. Don’t get caught in the rat-race of GPA and grades — whether it’s coding or something else, make time for your passions. And most importantly, network, because the right connections can open doors you never imagined.”
