Sastrigal (Purohits) - going hi-tech!

I think the Sastrigal (Purohit) community is one of the communities which has adapted to the new technologies very well.  They have not only adapted the technology but they are truly leveraging on them to provide their clients with seamless service.  How else can you explain when Sastrigal offers Avani Avittam and Shrartham on the internet to their discerning clients living thousands of miles away.  I have a personal experience with one of the Purohits based out of Tirunelveli when I went there 4 months ago to attend the wedding of my cousin.  The purohit here is a young man in his early 30's and I have known him from the days of he being a young apprentice to the Senior Purohit.  He has really transformed the way his services are delivered when as a matter of fact mentioned that he has clients across the globe and he uses "Skype" on a day to day basis for conducting the ceremonies.  He was goading one of my cousins (who lives in Ghana) to avail his services over the internet to complete his obligations to his late father on a monthly basis.   This Purohit is also a frequent flyer to US, Australia and UK to conduct homams and pujas on behalf of his clients.  

I have always admired the way the busy Purohits manage their calendar, clients and ensure seamless delivery.  They are also very enterprising now with all kinds of door step services and available for consultation on the phone 24X7.  I today saw one advertisement in a street corner about homams being conducted by a Purohit for ensuring success in the ensuing examinations.  This is an example of providing services according to the market conditions.  The next couple of months are going to peak exam time and with parents doing all sort of things to help their children get good marks, I can expect many parents availing of this service.  This particular Purohit also has a website which goes by the name www.sastrigalonline.com.  I checked out the website and it is a properly maintained and updated website.  It gives details of the academic qualifications and the various honours he has received.  This shows the professionalism on the part of the Purohit.  

There are various advantages in being a Purohit.  The first and the foremost among them is the tax-free nature of the income.  All transactions are conducted in cash and no receipts are either sought or given.  Even our former Finance Ministers have not dared to tax this profession on a presumptive basis and I am sure there are number of millionaires among the Purohit community.   This profession is also recession proof.  There is no threat of down-sizing, pink slips etc.,  Most of the Purohits now own two-wheelers and few of them I know has decent cars.  They have an established network of Purohits and they share work in case they are not able to meet the clients requirements.  You can no longer call them poor Purohits.

Somebody should do a detailed study of Purohits just like how dabbawallahs of Mumbai has been chronicled.