Online puja for families in Auckland

Auckland is home to most of New Zealand's Indian community. Sandringham Road, often called Little India, has been a shopping and meeting place for decades, and families live across Mt Roskill, Mt Albert, Papatoetoe, Manurewa, Flat Bush, Takanini and further south in Papakura and Pukekohe, where some families have farmed and run businesses for generations. The community includes long-settled Gujarati and Punjabi families, Fiji Indian families and many recent migrants. Because New Zealand is six and a half to seven and a half hours ahead of India, and pandits locally are few, finding one free on the exact muhurat can be difficult. Our pandits are based in India and conduct pujas live over Zoom, Google Meet or WhatsApp video. An Auckland afternoon or evening falls in the Indian morning or afternoon, which suits our pandits well. The pandit explains each step in Hindi or English, and relatives in India or Fiji can join on the same link. Rituals traditionally done at a tirth, such as pind daan and asthi visarjan, are performed on your family's behalf at Prayagraj, Kashi, Ayodhya or Mathura-Vrindavan and shown to you live. For rental homes with required smoke alarms, we offer a smoke-free havan: the pandit performs the fire havan live at a tirth in India while your family offers ahutis at home with no flame or smoke, or with only a ghee lamp. We have no office in New Zealand and do not make home visits.

Practical notes for Auckland

• Sandringham Road, Papatoetoe and Mt Roskill shops stock samagri; we send a checklist in advance.
• Auckland is 6h30m ahead of IST in winter and 7h30m ahead during daylight saving; book early afternoon to evening.
• Rentals must have working smoke alarms; choose the smoke-free havan and never disable an alarm.
• Waterways and the harbour carry deep cultural significance in Aotearoa; please do not place ashes or offerings in them. We arrange visarjan at a tirth in India.
• Labour Weekend and school holidays are popular for Griha Pravesh and Namkaran; book two to three weeks ahead.

Online via Zoom, Google Meet, WhatsApp video. Online pujas from $51 — see pricing.