India has been bleeding under the effects of the pandemic. The second wave that hit the country sometime in April has been particularly severe, with an exponentially rising number of cases and death tolls. In these grief-stricken times, some Indian entrepreneurs have taken up the gauntlet to provide essential services. These may not be glamorous businesses, but they are every bit as important.

The economy has also been battered by the all-encompassing sweep of the pandemic. Some entrepreneurs started out with the dual purpose of making ends meet and rendering essential service at the same time. Others, though, were purely moved by an inner call to aid in the relief effort.

Anthyesti – Providing Cremation Services in the Pandemic

Anthyesti Funeral Services was founded to bring much-needed order and professionalism to the unregulated Indian cremation services industry. This industry has been infamous for exploiting workers and providing sub-standard service.

Though Anthyesti has been operating since 2016, the founder Shruthi Reddy Sethi saw the real pain of bereaved families of the departed during the ongoing Covid crisis. She was deeply moved as families waited for hours to get spaces in morgues, wood for burning, and spots in cremation grounds. In the worst cases, families had to wait for days before they got their turn to bid a final adieu to their departed loved ones with a proper funeral.

The Anthyesti team sprang into action on seeing this sad state of affairs. They offered end-to-end funeral services during the pandemic, right from picking up the dead bodies from the hospital to booking space at the crematories till the time the final pyre was lit. Anthyesti offered these services at affordable prices of around INR 30,000. This was a welcome relief for the families of the deceased when profiteers were charging five times this amount during the Covid crisis.

Anthyesti is also particular to take full precaution and extend due care to its workers who are putting their lives on the line in the Corona crisis. They provide adequate medical insurance covers to these workers, including the undertakers, drivers, and embalmers.

The best thing about Anthyesti is that it saves the families of the deceased from waiting before they can get access to funeral services. In times of tragedy, the last thing these grief-stricken families want is to be mired in needless administrative delays.

Many people have found peace of mind by hiring Anthyesti for the painful work of cremating the bodies of their near and dear ones. Raj Gupta (name changed), a professor based in New Delhi, was already bleeding from the loss of two dear friends in the Corona crisis when further tragedy struck.

He lost another of his bosom pals to the pandemic. Raj had no further strength or energy left to help in handling the last rites of his friend. At this point, he came to know about Anthyesti and hired them. He confesses that hiring the team from Anthyesti was one of the biggest reliefs he has experienced in the last few days. The team took care of everything professionally and left the kith, and kin of the departed alone to contemplate and slowly heal from their deep loss.

The pandemic has hit India very hard. Businesses like Anthyesti deserve all the credit for stepping up to the challenge in these trying times and risking their lives to aid in the survival effort. Headed by its 36-year-old founder, former software engineer Shruthi Reddy Sethi, the company is determined to keep up its good work and help the nation fight the pandemic.

Call us at +91 87925 63332