Meet the IITian behind Meowmbai: How a 25-year-old built Mumbai's viral cat map

Every city has its unofficial residents. In Mumbai, they nap outside tea stalls, stretch lazily under parked scooters, slip into housing societies unnoticed, and somehow always know where the best fish market is.

Most people smile when they spot one and move on.

Twenty-five-year-old Sudarshan Birla does something different. He stops, takes a photo, remembers the exact location and, sometimes, returns days later hoping to meet the same cat again.

That simple habit has now turned into Meowmbai, a community-powered website where people can map, discover and document Mumbai's street cats. What began as a personal archive has quickly grown into something far bigger, with users contributing sightings from across the city and even reporting injured cats that need help.

The IIT Guwahati graduate, who works as a product manager and describes himself as a filmmaker by passion, never intended to build just another social media page.

"I wanted to create something where people could see cats mapped to specific locations and explore them geographically," he says. "Instagram is great for sharing moments, but I always felt those moments disappear too quickly."

FROM A SHY CHILD TO A CURIOUS BUILDER

Sudarshan describes himself as a quiet child who preferred cricket grounds over classrooms.

His affection for cats arrived much later.

During Classes 11 and 12, a stray cat began visiting his home every day.

"She would quietly walk in, sit on my lap, and sleep there for hours. Over time, she became my closest companion during that phase of my life, and that's when I truly fell in love with cats," he remembers.

Ironically, the creator of Mumbai's most talked-about cat map still doesn't own a cat. And his interest in building products is even newer.

"I only started building digital products seriously this year. Once I discovered how accessible technology had become, I realized I could turn ideas into reality much faster. Since then, I've been constantly experimenting and creating," he says.

FROM IIT TO FILMMAKING

Sudarshan Birla graduated in civil engineering from IIT Guwahati in 2023. But somewhere along the way, he realised engineering wasn't the future he wanted.

Instead, college introduced him to filmmaking, product management and a community of people who constantly pushed one another to dream bigger.

More than engineering concepts, he says IIT gave him the freedom to explore. "Choosing the right problem is just as important as solving it."

"Everyone is trying to build something meaningful, and having ambitious friends pushes you to grow in ways that classrooms never can," he says.

Filmmaking, which he discovered during college, remains a huge part of his life today. That creative side, he says, influences every product he designs.

"Creativity makes building technology more memorable. Filmmaking has taught me storytelling and attention to detail," he says.

To him, designing software isn't very different from directing a film.

"Every interaction on a screen is the same. The smallest interaction, or visual decision can completely change how someone uses technology," he adds.

That philosophy is visible throughout Meowmbai. Instead of feeling like another database, the website encourages people to explore the city itself, one cat at a time.

THE MOMENT MEOWMBAI CLICKED

The idea emerged very organically, while walking through Mumbai.

Sudarshan had developed a habit of photographing every cat he encountered. Slowly, those photos became linked with places in his memory.

"I'd think: this cat is from that corner near the chai stall. I'd find the same cat again someday," he says.

Then came a thought that eventually became Meowmbai's identity. "Realistically, the cats own the city. The map just makes that visible."

He realised Instagram wasn't preserving those experiences.

Instead of endlessly scrolling through photos, he imagined an interactive map where anyone could rediscover familiar cats, uncover neighbourhood hotspots and explore Mumbai from an entirely different perspective.

BUILT IN TWO WEEKS WITH AI

Perhaps the most surprising part of Meowmbai's story is how quickly it came together. Sudarshan built the platform in just two weeks, relying heavily on AI as a coding companion.

"I used Claude as my primary building companion tool, and mostly others for basic research purposes," he says.

The process, often described by developers as "vibe coding", isn't about AI writing an entire product on its own. Instead, developers rapidly prototype ideas by constantly collaborating with AI, asking questions, debugging code and experimenting much faster than before.

Sudarshan believes this shift has fundamentally changed who can build technology.

"We're living in a time where the biggest advantage isn't knowing every technology. It's knowing how to learn quickly and use the right tools," he says.

That accessibility, he says, is why students shouldn't wait for funding, investors or the perfect roadmap.

"We convince ourselves that we need funding, the perfect team, or a detailed roadmap before even taking the first step. But in reality, most of those things become important only after you start building," he says.

His advice is simple -- "Start building."

FROM A PASSION PROJECT TO A COMMUNITY PLATFORM

The response after Meowmbai's launch caught Sudarshan off guard.

"I was genuinely overwhelmed with the kind of responses that I have received," he says.

As users began pinning more cats to the map, another community discovered the platform: rescuers, feeders and volunteers working with street animals.

"One of the DMs I received was from someone rescuing over 30 cats from a single apartment. It made me realise it could genuinely support people who are already trying to do incredible work," Sudarshan says.

That message changed how he viewed Meowmbai. What started as a fun way to document Mumbai's street cats was beginning to solve real-world problems.

Today, users can already report injured cats and share adoption-related information. Sudarshan hopes the platform can eventually connect people who find injured animals with the nearest rescuer, NGO or volunteer.

"If technology can intelligently connect the right person at the right time, it can make a real difference, not just for humans, but for cats as well," he says.

The requests haven't stopped there. Many users have asked whether Meowmbai could also help reunite lost pet cats with their owners, an idea Sudarshan says he has been actively considering. But unlike mapping cat sightings, he believes a lost-pet feature cannot be rushed.

"Features like these require thoughtful verification and reliable processes because they involve real people, emotional situations, and beloved pets. I don't want to rush something that could have serious consequences if it isn't executed well," he says.

WHY MUMBAI COMES FIRST

Many users have already asked when Meowmbai will reach other cities, but Sudarshan isn't in a hurry.

"My focus is entirely on Mumbai. I believe it's important to solve the problem well in one city before thinking about expanding," he says.

That doesn't mean expansion isn't on the cards. He has already built a version for Bengaluru, but says every city has its own rescuers, volunteers and local communities, so simply copying the platform elsewhere won't work.

"For me, scaling isn't about adding more cities to the map. It's about making sure Meowmbai continues to create value for the people using it," Sudarshan says.

If it succeeds, he'd love to see Meowmbai connect cat lovers across India.

Users have also suggested a similar platform for dogs. Sudarshan isn't ruling it out, but says he'd rather perfect one idea first. "I've learned that I should solve one problem really well than try to solve ten problems at once."

'THE BEST PRODUCTS ARE BUILT AROUND PEOPLE'

For Sudarshan, the biggest lesson from Meowmbai isn't about cats. It's about building digital products that solve real problems.

"The very first question I ask myself is, 'Does this solve a real problem?'," he says.

He believes builders often make the mistake of listening only to what people say. "People often tell you what they want, but their actions reveal what they actually need."

That thinking has shaped Meowmbai (meowmbai.fun/map) from the beginning.

"Ultimately, I think the best products aren't built around ideas. They're built around people," he says.

While he sees entrepreneurship in his future, he isn't rushing that either. For now, he's focused on learning from rescuers, volunteers and cat lovers before thinking about monetisation.

"I see Meowmbai as a community-first platform. If I continue solving meaningful problems, I believe the right opportunities for sustainability will follow naturally," Sudarshan says.

His advice to students is the same approach that led him to build Meowmbai in the first place.

"This is probably the best time to build. With AI, open-source tools, and countless free resources available online, the barriers to creating something from scratch have never been lower."

Looking back, he says his own career "evolved through curiosity." It's the same curiosity that once made him stop to photograph a street cat and eventually inspired a platform that's helping thousands of Mumbaikars rediscover their city's feline residents.