Pind daan and ancestral rites, arranged with care.

What we help arrange

Pind daan, asthi visarjan, mundan, and related rites

Each of these serves a different purpose within the tradition, and your pandit will guide you on what's appropriate for your family's situation:

• Pind daan — a ritual offering made for a deceased ancestor, intended to support their soul's peace and passage. Varanasi, particularly Pisach Mochan Kund, is regarded as one of the most significant places to perform it.
• Asthi visarjan — the immersion of ashes into the Ganges, whether performed shortly after cremation or brought to Varanasi at a later date.
• Mundan — a head-shaving ceremony, performed for a range of reasons depending on family tradition.
• Other private pujas connected to loss or remembrance, arranged individually based on what your family needs.

How we handle this

Quietly, and without upselling

This is one area where we're deliberately restrained rather than promotional:

• A vetted pandit, matched to your family's specific tradition where possible.
• The correct site for your specific rite — not a generic location.
• One price, agreed with you before anything begins. Nothing is proposed as an add-on during the ceremony itself.
• If you're arranging this on behalf of family who couldn't travel to Varanasi, tell us — some traditions allow certain rites to be performed by proxy, and we can talk you through what applies.

Other ceremonies

Beyond pind daan: the other rites we arrange

Pind daan is the one most families ask for by name, but it is not always the rite that fits. Which ceremony is correct depends on how long ago the death occurred, how it occurred, whether shraddh has been kept up, and what your family tradition prescribes. Below is what we arrange and what each is for. Only pind daan carries a listed price — the rest vary too much by duration, site, number of pandits and materials to publish a figure honestly, so we quote each one.

What actually happens

The day itself, step by step

Most of the anxiety families carry into this is not about belief. It is about not knowing what will physically happen, who will be there, and whether they will be asked for money halfway through. So:

1. Before the day. We agree the rite, the site and the time with you, and confirm the pandit. You are told his name. If your family follows a particular tradition or sampradaya, tell us at this stage and we match accordingly.
2. Getting there. Your car and driver reach you at the agreed time. The ghats are reached on foot for the last stretch; if anyone in the family has difficulty walking, tell us and we choose the site accordingly.
3. Sankalp. The ceremony opens with the sankalp — the statement of intent, in which the names of the departed and of the person performing the rite are spoken, along with the gotra. This is why we ask for those details in advance.
4. The rite itself. The pandit performs it and explains each step as he goes, in Hindi or English. You are not expected to know the procedure. Nothing is done that has not been explained first.
5. Materials. Everything standard is already arranged and already paid for — pind, kush, til, flowers, cloth, the vessels. Nobody will be dispatched mid-ceremony to buy something you must reimburse.
6. Afterwards. Your Sāthi and car remain with you. Many families want to sit at the ghat for a while; that time is yours and is not charged.

What we need from you

• The full name of the departed, and their relationship to the person performing the rite.
• The gotra, if your family observes it. If you do not know it, say so — there is an accepted way to proceed and it is not a problem.
• The date of passing, or the tithi if you have it.
• Anything prescribed to you by a family priest or astrologer.

Questions families ask us but hesitate to

• “Can women perform these rites?” Practice varies by tradition, and in Varanasi it is more common than people expect. Tell us your situation and we will arrange a pandit comfortable with it rather than one who will make the day harder.
• “We are not religious. Is that a problem?” No. Many families come because a parent asked for it, not because they themselves observe. Nobody will comment on it.
• “The death was many years ago.” That is common, and there are rites specifically for it — tripindi shraddh exists for exactly that situation.
• “Will we be asked for donations?” Not by us and not by our pandits. If anyone at the ghat asks you for money, tell your Sāthi and it stops.

Pricing

One price, agreed in advance

Pind daan is ₹5,999 per ceremony, covering the pandit, the appropriate site, and all standard materials. One number, decided with you beforehand, so there is nothing to negotiate or add once the day arrives. You can book that here.

Every other rite on this page is quoted individually, and we would rather do that than publish a number we cannot keep. Tripindi shraddh runs a full morning; narayan bali may run across days and fixed tithis; a maha mrityunjaya jaap is priced by the recitation count. Quoting one figure for all of them would mean either overcharging the short rites or revising the price on families arranging the long ones. Tell us what you need and you will have a written figure, usually the same day.

Whatever the rite, the commitments are identical: the number is agreed before anything begins, materials are included, and nothing is proposed as an add-on once the ceremony is under way.