AFP, Mumbai :
From providing cow urine, incense and bamboo stretchers to booking a Hindu priest at the last minute, startups are seeking to cash in on India’s elaborate traditional funeral ceremonies.
Grieving families normally have to rush between shops buying dozens of items needed to say goodbye to loved ones but now online companies are selling “final rites kits”.
Many bereaved relatives – particularly busy professionals in India’s burgeoning cities – see the services as a godsend, but traditional family-run funeral shops say their businesses are hurting.
When Mumbai businessman Parag Mehta had to arrange a second family funeral in two weeks, he was short of time and ordered a kit online.
From providing cow urine, incense and bamboo stretchers to booking a Hindu priest at the last minute, startups are seeking to cash in on India’s elaborate traditional funeral ceremonies.
Grieving families normally have to rush between shops buying dozens of items needed to say goodbye to loved ones but now online companies are selling “final rites kits”.
Many bereaved relatives – particularly busy professionals in India’s burgeoning cities – see the services as a godsend, but traditional family-run funeral shops say their businesses are hurting.
When Mumbai businessman Parag Mehta had to arrange a second family funeral in two weeks, he was short of time and ordered a kit online.
