Performing Poojas (Dharmic Vidhis) is an integral part of the Hindu culture. And although globalization might have changed the views of a number of Indians about performing certain rituals, when it comes to our loved one and certain important occasions in life, we always want all the power of gods to be with us.
For anyone who has performed a pooja in recent times knows that this task is impossible without the detailed guidance from someone who has knowledge in the field. Not only performing the pooja but all the pre pooja preparations that go with it require a lot of guidance and assistance. The ingredients are usually available only in certain shops in the city, a lot of times you don’t even know what the ingredient looks like and therefor find it difficult to assemble all the required material for the occasion.
The knowledge of all these things is known by a very few people today and the number of these individuals is receding each day. So as per the laws of Economics, when the demand is more than the supply, one should assume that all the pandits should be doing very well right ?
Well, in reality, a number of pandits in India are finding it difficult to make ends meet.Another reason causing a drop in their numbers and therefore a possibility of extinction of this profession.
oPandit Takes The Panditjis Online
In times when the power of a number of professions is being revived by the internet, Mrudula Barve and Shekhar Malik are helping revive this profession and keep our culture alive by taking the Pandijis online with their venture oPandit.
[box type=”shadow” align=”aligncenter” class=”” width=”600″]oPandit, operating in the “Paurohitya” area through the marketplace model, conducts all Dharmic Vidhi in homes and offices in a convenient, hassle-free & a thorough manner from expert Pandits.[/box]
Each Dharmic Vidhi involves a lot of meticulous planning. Plus, various resources and material (“sahitya” and “samagri”) are needed to conduct the Vidhi, the arrangement of which is in itself an operational challenge for the ‘yajamaan’.
oPandit, thus addresses the needs of the families and couples who have the Will to perform Dharmic Vidhi, by approaching the Vidhi in a very organized, logical and professional manner thus effortlessly blending with today’s hectic schedules without compromising on the Dharmic karma.
The ‘yajamaan’ simply books the Vidhi by making the upfront payment and oPandit takes over, providing the entire Vidhi “sahitya” and “samagri” along with a hassle-free conduct of the Vidhi from expert Pandits. Instead of constantly worrying about the arrangements of the Vidhi, the ‘yajamaan’ is now fully relaxed, able to fully immerse himself/ herself into the Vidhi and extract maximum positivity out of it.
The founders believe that once people come to know of their services, a number of people who are currently not performing any dharmic vidhis will also want to avail their services. Thus, there is a huge Latent Demand which is waiting to be tapped by oPandit.
Engaging their target audience, oPandit’s Facebook page regularly features knowledge-based posts of the important occasions in the Hindu calendar.
This industry is currently totally unorganized and oPandit is out there to lend professionalism to this industry with a long-term vision of preserving (existing demand) and reviving (the latent demand) the Indian culture. The company provides a knowledge-based approach to each vidhi which they believe is their biggest strength.
About The Team
The company, Jadzia Solutions Pvt. Ltd, with the brand oPandit, is promoted by Mrudula Barve and Shekhar Malik. Mrudula is a computer engineer from Mumbai University and has more than 8+ years of experience across IT Project management and Analytics. Shekhar is a B.Tech (ECE)+MBA from IIT Powai having 9+ years of experience across Project Finance, Corporate Banking, Investment Banking & Technology outsourcing.
“Having a deep interest in the Indian culture, we saw a huge market gap of approaching the religion and rituals in an organized, logical and professional manner. Moreover, having seen our parents scrambling, huffing and puffing their way through a Vidhi, the thought of providing ‘convenience’ along with maintaining the sanctity of the Vidhi led us to germinate oPandit,” says Mrudula.
“Moreover, a lot of highly talented Pandits today are not able to meet their ends. “Paurohitya” is a profession on the wane, where if you analyse any micro-market, the number of Pandits in that area today are way lower than say, 20 years ago. oPandit, with its professional approach also aims to revive this holy profession.” says Mrudula.
Current team size is the 2 founders and a network of 30 Pandits. oPandit is currently operating across Mumbai and its suburbs, Navi Mumbai, Thane, Kalyan, Dombivali. The company is also looking for funding.
