With food, clothing, property, gadgets, groceries, beauty and health services that have flooded the e-commerce space in India, it only seemed that the religious services and products could remain far behind. Now, Pujashoppe.com has opened an outlet in Ranchi following its Delhi and Gurgaon branches on Saturday. Former CM Arjun Munda alongwith his wife Meera Munda and Urban Development Minister CP Singh inaugurated the Puja Shoppe here.
There’s cheer for all the puja lovers as they can now book a Pandit for religious ceremonies such as sacred thread ceremony, house warming, marriages, tonsure ceremony, baby showers, baby naming ceremony and more online or by just making one call. There’s more to the good news for the city said the store-manager Pratik Maken.
“Anybody can call on the numbers provided on our website www.pujashoppe.com to book a Pandit or even order any of our religious and spiritual products online. One can not only book a Pandit but also procure all the items required for the particular ceremony and that can be dropped at their doorstep at the fixed date and time. The web portal offers a host of services including providing priests, customised puja kits and samagri, divine and corporate gifts, vastu and astrology consultancy and more. We have products ranging from Rs 25 to Rs 1 lakh. We also have deities’ idols in brass, bronze and silver,” said Maken.
Owned by the Divus e-Commerce group, this store is one of the five stores in Gurgaon, Delhi and Ranchi and the portal plans to have a fast-growing network of offline stores across the country in the future. “We are the first and biggest online Puja portal to provide religious and spiritual products in the entire country, including Pandits and astrology services. The group is planning to open 500 offline stores across the country.
The launch day saw several people flocking in to our store and buying different religious products. The silver lakshmi and Ganesh coins were the ones to be picked up the most today. We have also started receiving demands for laughing Buddha and lord Mahavir silver, brass and bronze statues. Though, we do not have any of the either on display or sale here today but would soon try to make it available for the customers,” said Gopal Choudhary, Manager, Administration.
Choudhary also said that the Pandit who often conducts all the religious ceremonies at the former Chief Minister Arjun Munda’s house is the head priest here for the store.
“There were about 30 customers who visited our store to buy some products. People mostly picked up the silver coins, incense sticks, puja samagri kits and silver bowls. People who did not come in to buy and just wanted to check it out also left the store smiling and promising to come back for the unique products on sale here. People can also come in and consult the team of astrologers and procure the right gem stones and get the rings, bracelets, chains and such made from the store,” said Pramod Thakur, Manager, Billing.
The families, including the senior citizens who were spotted at the store felt pleased to see their favourite idols on display all under the same roof. “Though, we used to get such products in the city before also but nobody took the pains to assemble all the necessary items and make it available at just one shop. Now, we know where to find all the products at the same time and can do that even online. The lord Krishna idol that is priced at Rs 1 lakh is what we have been eyeing at and would come back later to book it after further discussion with the family. For now, we just bought two silver coins,” said Krishna Devi, a 58-year-old woman from Kokar.