Mokshshil - Funeral Management Services
- ShwetSai
- Apr 10, 2019
- 5 min read
A very unique business proposition that challenged the age old tradition of funeral management in India, got incubated at L.J. Institute of Management Studies, is now planning to expand in major metropolitan cities, after being successfully operative in Ahmedabad for past 5 years.
Through this blog article, ShwetSai hopes to spread the inspiring story about the journey of Mokshshil , create awareness about alternative way of funeral management, that can share the burden during tough times.......
A verse from Shrimad Bhagwat Gita, as the story of Mokshshil begins….
The Spirit is neither born nor does it die at any time. It does not come into being or cease to exist. It is unborn, eternal, permanent, and primeval. The Spirit is not destroyed when the body is destroyed. (2.20). (1)
However much we try none of us have yet managed to escape death, leaving behind a grieving family. Founder of Mokshshil Dr. Bilva Desai, was faced with this tragedy when her mom died of cancer in 2012. Her world was shattered, as she sat beside her mom’s dead body in the hospital. As tragic as the circumstances were, hospital authorities declined to arrange for transport to take dead body home for final rites. The bereaved family members had to arrange for a private ambulance.
In hindus, death ritual is an elaborate ceremony where the departed soul is set free for heavenly abode by conducting service as per the old vedic scripts. As Dr. Bilva, was going through the ardent process she realized that even with her family around, having a professional service giver who can manage the last rites as per the family wishes would be highly beneficial.
The friends & family can grieve their lost loved one in peace, while the stress of arrangement of death ceremony can be left to an agency like “Mokshshil”.
That’s how Mokshshil was conceived , brain child of Dr. Bilva Desai and her husband, Dr. Abhijeet Singh, Co-founder & CEO of Mokshshil .
How it all began?
L. J. Institute of management facilitated the initial growth of Mokshshil. Dr. Desai put forth the idea to her students and motivated them to take it as a research project undertaking. As with every research project, initially survey was conducted.
Under the guidance of Dr. Bilva and Dr. Abhijeet who is also a faculty at L.J. Management institute survey of approx. 4500 Amdavadis was conducted to see if there are people who have come across similar situation and considering the emotional state whether having funeral management service would be of benefit. 70% of surveyed Amdavadis welcomed the idea of funeral management by third party. Survey also suggested that 37% of the respondents had difficulty in performing last rites, 29% in arranging venues for prayer meet for the departed and 76% were unaware of the process itself.
Major issue that surfaced was there wasn’t a single source that they could depend on. This validated the idea of starting Mokshshil.
Mokshshil - the making
Antrapreneur the business incubator – unit of L J Knowledge foundation liked the idea and decided to incubate it in-house. Dr. Abhijeet Singh who is also the COO of Antrapreneur helped the student pitch the idea to jury members and help them secure the necessary funding for pilot testing and eventually launching it commercially.
Formally the founding pillar were laid in 2015. On September 15th 2015 the ribbon for Mokshshil was cut. At the time mokshshil was a lean team with Dr. Bilva Desai , Dr. Abhijeet Singh, 2 students and 2-3 helper assistants. In 2016 Mokshshil was registered as a private limited company.
On the very first day itself all the major print and radio media covered Mokshshil with fervor . Mokshshil received a client call on the very same day, from an affluent and big marwari family thanks to the wide media coverage. Services for cremation arrangement as well as prayer and news paper advertisement were requested. As much as the death news was saddening the fact that Mokshshil could bring a bit of relief to them gave the team members immense satisfaction. To quote Dr. Desai “entire team including founders were present during the ceremony to make sure that the rite was conducted smoothly”.
As mokshshil grew there arose a need for better organization , defining of roles and responsibilities and tie-ups with vendors, pundits ,caterers, wholesalers etc. Under the guidance of CEO team began to gradually cross each hurdle taking baby steps at a time. Today Mokshshil supports last rites not only for Hindus but other religions too, like Christians, Jains, Muslims. As with the Hindus, similarly for other religions too, the team of Mokshshil carefully addresses minutest of detail.
Online Presence and Other Services
Mokshshil is available online. They have web presence http://mokshshil.com/, aside from it Mokshshil is available on facebook, twitter and Instagram .
Mokshshil offers various other services like,
Mokshanjali , Mokshyatra, Pre-booking, Mokshdaan and Mokshstore.
Detailed information about all of the above services is available on their website.
Cute & wise Tibu is their branding mascot!
Be sure to watch a very heart felt video from Mokshshil... It will remind you of the ordeal that you probably went through or have seen a dear and near one go through.
Awards and Recognition
Dr. Desai when asked about how Mokshshil was received reacted by saying “In the beginning it was very difficult for Mokshshil to sustain as people demoralized the idea, and it had to go through lot of negative reaction because it is basically related to death but it is the fidelity & hard work of the members that after three years (2013-2016), Mokshshil stands as a proud start up.
It has been covered in more than 65 Media, numerous blogs and is nationally recognized. Its was also felicitated by then Gujarat Chief Minister Shri Anandiben Patel as the most promising start up of Gujarat”
To further Dr. Desai’s saying below are some of the major accomplishments of Mokshshil,
1. Mokshishil has participated in the Vibrant Gujarat Summit
2. Dr. Bilva Desai Singh was felicitated with the Outstanding Start-up award in 2018 by L.J. Institute of Management Studies
3. Dr. Bilva Desai was recognized as the Faculty lead by Gujarat Education Department
4. Mokshshil was also featured in the coffee table book that was launched by Chief Minister Shri Vijay Rupaniji.
These are only a few from the list, Mokshshil has participated in many social cause events , organized yoga shibirs and much more.
Mokshshil - the Journey ahead…
According to Dr. Desai, though Mokshshil has been so well recognized it is still operative only in Ahmedabad. Until now they have performed 1500 cremations, assisted 57 organ donations and created impact on more than 3000 families.
Mokshshil, is completely self sustainable in Ahmedabad but they want to expand to major cities in India like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore.
They are evaluating various options for the expansion of Mokshshil such as franchise, getting first round of fund by diluting few equity ,or invest with key partners of different cities.
In 2017, Mokshshil had pitched their business in The Vault show. It can be watched on youtube.
Mokshshil is doing a phenomenal service . Remember Mokshshil is only a click away............
We at ShwetSai hope that they continue on this path and reach out to many more in the society. We are happy that they have selected us a technical writer partner giving us an opportunity to be a part of the noble venture. We wish them the very best!
References
https://www.thoughtco.com/healing-words-for-tragic-times-1770148
Case Study on Mokshshil by Dr. Bilva Desai.
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