Religion: Huge money-spinner in India

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Religion: Huge money-spinner in India

The Economic Times

20 Apr, 2008

Neha Dewan, Purva Bhatia & Surbhi Goel

 

He steps were teeming with hundreds of people. Gangaram

stood there, stunned. Then with a sigh of reverence, he

approached a barber and sat down, his hands folded. It was a

dream come true for this thirty-year-old farmer from

Chennai. Not everyday can you shave off your head in the

mighty shadow of the Lord Venkateswara Temple at

Tirumala.

 

But as the barber swiftly went about his work, little did

Gangaram and the hundreds of devotees around him realize

that they were helping the richest temple in the world get

richer by a few hundred crore of rupees.

 

In fact, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), the trust

that manages the famous hill shrine of Lord Venkateswara

temple, is planning to float global tenders for the sale of

hair, targeting a revenue of over Rs 230 crore!

 

Temple trusts

 

In a practice that sees millions of devotees offering their

hair to the Lord every year, the long standing 'tonsure' ritual

also brings in the necessary revenue for TTD. As per media

reports, TTD has approved a budget of Rs 1,925 crore for

the fiscal year 2008-09. The auction of hair, a major revenue

generator for the temple trust, finds a good number of takers

in India as well as abroad. Last year, auctions of human hair

fetched a neat revenue of approximately $25 million.

 

And that's not all. TTD has also kept itself in tune with the

latest technologies like e-seva [service], e-hundi

[donations], online auction of hair, [a] virtual queue system

and even procuring machines to automate the manufacture

of ladoos [sweets]! Besides the sale of hair, the hundi

service (contributing to the Hundi of Lord Venkateswara),

the sale of ladoos, VIP tickets and extravagant donations

also rake in a good revenue.

 

There are other temple trusts like TTD that have been

managing religious institutions all over the world. The

Bochasanvasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sansthan

(BAPS), known for its traditional hand-carved stone temples

across the world, has built over 700 temples and 3,300

centres worldwide.

 

In fact, the Akshardham temple in Delhi even made it to the

Guinness Book of world Records for being the world's

largest comprehensive Hindu temple. Built at a cost of Rs

200 crore, Akshardham temple in Delhi is spread over 100

acres of land and sees 70,000-80,000 visitors per week.

 

While Lord Venkateswara temple carries the distinction of

being the richest in the world and Akshardham temple in

Delhi the largest Hindu temple, the Mata Vaishno Devi

shrine yatra also fetches a tidy sum for the Katra economy.

 

Industry estimates project that the annual pilgrimage to the

Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine has been generating Rs 474

crore a year. A host of services are also offered online, that

include bhaint and prasad, pooja on request and donating

online. Revenue to the board from online donations alone

was estimated at roughly Rs 2 crore last year.

 

Who would have thought of such unique add-ons even a

decade ago? In addition to making things simpler for those

who are unable to make it to the site of worship, it also

helps in keeping these religious institutions in step with the

latest technological advancements.

 

Interestingly, the Siddhivinayak Temple in Mumbai offers

an opportunity to do a live darshan on the web! Says

Hanumant Balwant Jagtap, CEO, Shree Siddhivinayak

Temple, " There are several devotees outside India who

cannot visit the temple. So, they log in and offer virtual

poojas on the temple's website. " Prasad sales are equally

popular among devotees, especially during auspicious days.

 

" The prasad sales go up to Rs 2 crore per year. We witness

sales of at least 20,000 laddoos per day. The sale goes up on

Tuesdays and auspicious days like Ganesh Chathurthi, "

adds Jagtap. The temple attracted a revenue of Rs 27 crore

in the financial year 2006-07.

 

 

Religious tourism

 

Religion has always given a strong boost to the tourism

industry, making followers flock to pilgrimage destinations

in large numbers. At least 19% of all tourist trips fall under

the category of pilgrimage tourism, according to the recent

findings of the PhoCusWright report, a US-based travel

research agency that has offices in India and major travel

portals as clients.

 

The research also showed that over 7 million pilgrims

visited Vaishno Devi last year. In Uttaranchal, majority of

the room occupancy, about 71% was in Haridwar alone,

followed by 12% in Mussoorie and 3% in Nainital.

 

Says Nikhil Rungta, head, marketing,

http://www.yatra.com, " As a travel website, we're seeing a

surge in footfalls across pilgrim centres in the country. We

see a huge potential in this segment and these destinations

could signify anything from big profits to ethnic diversity. "

 

Famous religious packages frequently catch the attention of

tourists, as they offer them a chance to see various pilgrim

centres at a package price. Says an Indiatimes spokesperson,

" The famous packages that we have are South Circuit that

comprises Tirupati and Golden Circuit that comprises

Varanasi and other neighbouring cities.

 

For foreigners, Golden Temple is the sole religious

destination that is connected by air and Vrindavan,

Haridwar and Rishikesh is another famous package that is

mostly connected by road. Consumers mostly like to

combine leisure with pilgrimage. " They are also in the

process of coming out with a spiritual package catalogue by

bundling spiritual events.

 

Apart from the usual Char Dham, Kedarnath, Badrinath,

Gangotri and Yamnotri, or Rishikesh, curious foreign

tourists are visiting shrines across the country. Besides

Vaishno Devi, Amritsar and Tirupati, Ajmer is the new

destination that tourists are exploring as a pilgrimage

destination. The government says spiritual tourism

constitutes nearly 25% of the revenue pie.

 

According to Cox & Kings, one of the country's largest tour

operators, 70% of the domestic tourist movement is for

religious purposes. Nikhil Dhodapkar, director, sales &

marketing, Carlson Hotels Worldwide, feels that a visit to

religious cities often serves as a vacation for domestic

tourists.

 

The group has hotels in Katra, Haridwar, Shirdi and

Badrinath and the demand for all these places is growing at

a rate of 15-20% annually. " Radisson Varanasi has 80%

international traffic. Katra and Haridwar are heavy on

domestic travel. Since connectivity are getting better,

religion tourism is growing as a part of leisure traveling. "

 

But even though there are businessmen, celebrities and

young professionals who are flocking to these religious

sites, the dearth of proper infrastructure and hotel chains

still remains a huge challenge for sustainable growth of

religious tourism.

 

Eyeing the growth of this segment, The Fortune Hotels

chain run by Welcom Group will soon open its Fortune

Faith Goradia in Shirdi. The group runs three hotels in the

southern temple circuit in Mahabalipuram, Madurai and

Tirupati. The per day tariffs, say officials, range a moderate

Rs 1,699 to Rs 5,000.

 

" Young professionals visit these places to unwind and

businessmen seek divine blessings of God before any new

venture. Together with this, we see that 30% of the traffic is

foreigners and NRIs, while the rest 70% is domestic, " says

Suresh Kumar, president, Fortune Park Hotel.

 

Books, music & TV channels

 

As more and more people turn to religion and spirituality for

solace, the 'faith' industry is booming. The industry

includes CDs, VCDs, audio cassettes of bhajans, satsang;

literature and books and even things such as idols, incense

sticks and rosaries. In India, the sale of spiritual CDs is next

only to that of Bollywood cassettes and CDs.

 

A growing number of spiritual gurus penning down their

'wisdom' in books and literature pertaining to various faiths

has given a big boost to religions. Walk into any bookstore

and you'll find umpteen periodicals and books on

spiritualism, mythology and religions.

 

These include topics such as epics, meditation, yoga,

spiritual thought and more. Or just switch on your television

set to catch a glimpse of the number of 'spiritual' channels

that have been launched in recent times.

 

Religious books draw a good business every year and

publishers swear by them. " The demand for spiritual as well

as mythological books is growing at a rapid pace of 30%

every year. In the last few years, the sale of these books has

touched the sky, " says Anantha Padnabhan, vice-president,

sales, Penguin Books India.

 

Delhi's Om Bookstore has at least four columns dedicated

to spiritual books in all its outlets. Each outlet sells about 15

religious books each month. The prices of these books start

from Rs 350 and go up to Rs 5,000. Amit Vig, retail head,

Om Bookstore talks about a noticeable trend in this

segment. " Children prefer comic books over novels. And a

lot of comic books based on mythology are attracting kids.

The sale of such comics has gone up by 10% from last two

years, " he says.

 

Foreigners constitute a large chunk of avid readers of

religious Indian books. " We have a range of books by

Mandala Publishers from the UK. These are very popular

among foreigners. They find illustrations in these books

quite fascinating. These books are available from Rs 4,000

onwards, " quips Vig.

 

The best-sellers across various bookstores include

Ramayana Series by Ashok K Banker, Mahabharata by

Ramesh Menon and Bhagwat Gita by Eknath Eshwaran.

These books cost anywhere from Rs 350 up to Rs 4,000.

 

Cassettes and CDs based on devotional songs are not far

behind in raking in the moolah. From Mata ki bheten during

Navratras to Hanuman Chalisa and Punjabi Gurbani,

devotional music is becoming popular among youngsters,

working professionals and families. Though music

companies refused to disclose figures, according to sources,

religious music contributes 40% to the overall revenue of

music cassettes and the CD market.

 

" It's not just devotional music - people are also lapping up

mantras, shlokas and wellness music. For Times Music,

religious music contributes around 40-50% of the revenue

and the demand is escalating, " says a Times Music

spokesperson.

 

Another leading player in the category of devotional music

cassettes and CDs, T-Series, releases 150 to 200 devotional

titles every year, often notching up more than one release a

week. For the group, almost 50% of the CD sales come

from such kind of music. " This kind of music does not have

chartbusters but takers.

 

The market is growing rapidly and penetrating into smaller

towns as well, " says Arun Kumar, senior GM, marketing, T-

Series. The production cost for devotional/ religious music

CDs comes around 1-2% of big budget film music that cost

Rs 30-40 lakh. Besides T-Series, other big players in the

category include Tips, Venus and Baba Music.

 

Retail boom

 

It's not just books or television channels alone that pass on

the message of religion to generations. Religious apparel

and accessories are fast becoming a big draw for Indians as

well as foreigners. And needless to say, their demand shoots

up manifold during the festive season. As per research firm

Technopak advisors, between the months of October and

December, which is the festival period, close to 50% of an

apparel retailer's annual sales is achieved.

 

It's not just the apparel category that sees a hike in sale

figures. Sweets, decorations and gifts are crucial points of

sale during mega festive occasions such as Diwali,

Christmas, Eid ul-Fitr and Durga Puja. Marketers witness

sales scaling dizzy heights during the Diwali festival.

 

The tradition of exchanging sweets and gifts during the

festival makes it a rewarding time for retailers. Ditto for

Christmas where shopping malls and gift stores across the

country cash in on the year-end festivity bonanza.

 

Retailers, confectioneries and consumer electronics firms,

all rake in the moolah during Christmas. Even before the

start of the festival, the markets are flooded with fancy

decorative items and enthusiastic shopping activity. The sale

of sweets, kurta-pyjamas and buying activity is also at its

peak during the Eid ul-Fitr festival that marks the end of

Ramadan.

 

Besides sweets, apparel and gifting, it is niche accessory

elements that are on the splurge list during festive

occasions. For instance, religious jewelry that usually

include a range of products such as Ganesha pendants, Om

pendants or Lord Krishna pendants are extremely popular.

 

Says Sameet Neb, VP, Retail, Ola Jewelry: " Religious

jewelry is something that invokes strong sentiments and

thus is a market by itself. Sales boom specially at the time

of the festive season. During this period, up to 25% of the

total sales can be procured through religious jewelry alone.

On a regular basis, the sales are around 2 to 3% only. "

 

It's the same for Delhi-based Mehrasons Jewelers which has

a range featuring gold pendants and rashi stones.

 

" We decided to do religious jewelry because there is a good

demand for the same in the market and we have lots of

customers asking for it. In fact, we have had customers

coming to us and asking us for new shapes and patterns of

god and goddesses, " says Ajay Mehra, MD, Mehrasons

Jewelers.

 

Spanish porcelain luxury brand Lladro has India's rich

religious heritage as an inspiration for their designs. The

brand recently launched Veena Ganesha and Bansuri

Ganesha, which are the first two creations in a set of four

spiritual collections. Says Sachin Jain, senior brand manager

of Lladro India, " We have received tremendous response for

our 'Spirit of India' collection, especially for the creative

depiction of Ganesha with Veena and Bansuri. The Spirit of

India collection accounts for almost 20% of Lladro India's

sales. "

 

Even fashion designer Manish Arora has a range that

encompasses religion as its core theme. The designer's

Spring Summer 2008 Collection draws inspiration from

gods and classical Indian dancers.

 

In India, religion truly is omnipresent. And you needn't go

far to see how deeply it is ingrained in each and every

aspect of our daily lives. Just switch on your television set at

prime time. The telecast of the most famous mythological

series with viewers hooked on, is the most befitting example

to share.

 

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