Rituals, Remixed: Inside Mumbai’s Booming Digital Puja Economy

No matter where you are, a student in Boston or a couple in Bengaluru, you can now invoke blessings, chant shlokas, and perform age-old ceremonies from the comfort of your home. Spirituality, it seems, has found a new inbox. Whether it is a mundan for your baby, a Navagraha shanti before moving homes, or a pitru paksha ritual to honour your ancestors, a growing network of digital-savvy pundits are offering remote services via video call. The sacred has entered the chat.

From Vedas to Video Calls: The Digital Evolution of Hindu Pujas

Hindu pujas, once defined by their rootedness in temples, fire altars, and face-to-face blessings, have travelled a long way from the Vedic period to the virtual age. Traditionally performed in person by Brahmin priests using sacred chants, precise rituals, and elaborate offerings, these ceremonies are now increasingly being digitised, often with nothing more than a smartphone and a good internet connection. “My parents insisted on a Griha Pravesh puja before I moved into my flat in Pune,” says Shreya, a 25-year-old tech worker, “but the priest was in Varanasi and the whole ritual happened over a WhatsApp video call; I just followed his instructions from my kitchen!” Pandemic restrictions accelerated this shift, and platforms like SmartPuja, PujaNPujari, and even individual temple WhatsApp groups now offer remote rituals for everything from Satyanarayan Katha to naming ceremonies. According to a Mumbai-based priest, “I used to get two pujas a week before COVID. Now I do five a day, most of them are online. I even send voice notes for mantras in advance.”

For diaspora families, digital pujas offer a way to stay connected to their roots despite time zones and distances. Rohan, who lives in Toronto, shares, “My daughter’s Annaprashan was done by a pundit in Kolkata. The samagri came in a courier box, and he guided us on a WhatsApp call, right down to how to offer the banana.” Temples like Tirupati and Siddhivinayak have formalised virtual offerings, with live-streamed aartis and digital prasad delivery. WhatsApp has emerged as the go-to platform, informal yet instant, where pundits send timings, video links, and even personalised blessings. Some purists argue this shift loses the sanctity of physical presence, but others see it as a necessary adaptation.

Aarti on Call: The Best Online Puja Services When You’re Far from Home

Whether you're living abroad, shifting cities for college, or simply too swamped to find a local priest, your spiritual practice doesn’t need to pause. Online puja platforms OnlinePrasad (Rs. 351–Rs. 2,100) send temple offerings from Tirupati, Shirdi, and other major shrines right to your door. For a DIY vibe, MyPujaBox (Rs. 500–Rs. 2,500) delivers beautiful curated kits complete with samagri for common rituals and festivals.

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If you want remote access to temple ceremonies, ePuja.co.in (Rs. 1,100–Rs. 5,000) lets you book pujas at over 3,600 temples nationwide. Meanwhile, Puja N Pujari (Rs. 1,800–Rs. 9,000) offers both doorstep and virtual Vedic services for everything from Lakshmi Homam to Grihapravesh. 

How Online Pujas Are Powering Mumbai’s Spiritual Economy

The rise of online pujas in Mumbai is not only changing how rituals are performed but also expanding who benefits from them. Behind every virtual ceremony is a network of local vendors, logistics workers, packaging specialists, and digital service providers. With rituals now planned and executed via apps and WhatsApp, demand for curated puja kits, complete with incense, brass utensils, fresh flowers, and printed instructions, has soared. “We used to sell at temple gates and flea markets,” says Shalini, a flower vendor from Dadar. “Now we get bulk orders every week for deliveries all over the city, sometimes even shipped to Dubai.”

Still, not everyone in the traditional economy has benefited equally. At the Dadar flower market, some vendors mention a subtle decline in walk-in customers. “We’re not losing everyone, but the rich families who used to come with big lists now just get everything delivered through some online pundit,” says Mukesh, who has been selling marigolds for over two decades. While these platforms offer scale and ease, their services often cater to middle and upper-class customers due to the higher costs; a basic virtual puja package can start at Rs. 2,500 and rise quickly depending on the ritual. For small vendors, the shift is noticeable but not yet devastating; the city's spiritual economy is adapting, one click at a time.