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Mouse shoos parrot
away
Welcome to online astrology! The number of Websites, both Indian and western, is practically galactic in scope and these seem to be a big hit with the Generation Y. "Even in today’s Net age, people use astrology for career or business guidance, future and marriage counselling. For some in this stressful routine, it is even an emotional crutch to get through the day," says Hemang Pandit, CEO, Ganeshaspeaks.com. "People enjoy astrology because they want control over their environment. The astrology business in India is estimated to be in excess of Rs 2,000 crore and is growing. Of this, the online segment is roughly Rs 15 crore which is shared by 10-odd astrology portals," says Bejan Darualla, a well-known astrologer. The online segment too is growing and the portals are eyeing the personalised services market and tap it both through their online and offline activities, says Pandit. Due to lack of time and easy Internet access, people prefer online sites. They also come very cheap, he says, adding while the fee of an astrologer may be around Rs 2,500, for online consultation he doesn’t charge even one-tenth of it. Also, the portals offer many services like daily predictions, making of horoscopes, etc free which again are costly during offline consultations noting the way people are hooked to these sites can be gauged from the large number of hits. "The interest in vedic astrology is so strong that more than two-third of those who visit our Indian sites are westerners," says A K Kohli, Managing Director, vedicpredictions.com "Among the westerners too, it is Americans who want to know most about marriage, full life predictions and career guidance," says Kohli. "In India, however, we get the maximum number of hits from Delhi and Punjab. In fact, the whole of north India," says Pandit. Giving details of the working of these astrological sites, Pandit says most people think that all predictions are made by a computer in which the data of a person is fed. But it is not so. Once a surfer puts his personal details on the site, they are directly stored in a database. The portals take the
services of well-known astrologers and these details are then sent to
them. Based on their calculations, the reports are sent to the clients,
he says. The services are divided into two categories - generalised and personalised. While most casual surfers prefer generalised services, those consulting for marriage or career go in for personalised services. Most of the well-acclaimed
sites also take the services of western astrologers, compare it with
vedic prediction and then come out with judgement. |
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HOOKED
on to horoscopes? No more going to family astrologers or pundits with
huge janampatris as your whole future is now available with the click of
a mouse.