Funeral planning is a stressful affair in India. Families of the departed ones are left with no choice but to plan the funeral even when they are dealing with the emotional trauma of loss.
Swargadwara, an Odisha-based startup launched in 2016, is a single point solution for funeral and post-death rituals. Swargadwara offers funeral services at the doorstep. The startup conducts pre-funeral, funeral as well as post-funeral cremation services. They have 3 types of cremation kits–for widows, married women, and men. The kits include 35 types of cremation items like gangajal, earthen lamps, betel nuts, matchboxes, ghee, coins etc.
Startup founder Plaban Malhotra says that his core vision was to provide a helping hand to the bereaved families in their darkest hours. He says he found it difficult to hire employees since most of the families didn’t want their children to be employed in the death care sector. Plaban added that most of his employees find this as a service rather than a job. Swargadwara is currently a team of 13.
Swargadwara is a for-profit organisation. While cremation day services costs between Rs 2,500 to 7,500, post-cremation service charges can vary between Rs. 10,000 and 2 Lakh. Clients can get in touch with Swargadwara through their website, Fb page or by calling their helpline number.
With around 9 Mn deaths happening annually in India, Swargadwara aims to expand their services pan India and lend a shoulder to grief-stricken families during their darkest times.
