Hello my Hive friends. It's Friday once again. It's one of the most awaited day of the Week! It's time once again for the popular #MarketFriday tag hosted by 
For this Friday I would like to feature a pro shop which opened a few years ago here in our city called Gandiva Archery. It is an archery equipment supplier in the Philippines, one of the leading shops, which distributes archery merchandises and equipment from Krossen and Fivics. In order to broaden their market base, the company in 2007 opened an indoor archery center where people can walk in to learn and experience the thrill of this sport. Photo below shows the entrance and facade of the branch which they opened here in our city.
The Sanskrit word Gandiva comes from the Indian epic of Mahabharata. It was described as an ancient, indestructible, mystical bow which was used by the heroic prince Arjuna in many of his adventures. Thus the name of the outfit. It is their aim to encourage as much people, young and old, to try the sport which they claim can help in developing one's focus, strength and discipline. All these while making it an unforgettably enjoyable experience.
A few months ago, my daughter and a couple of friends tried out the place and see for themselves what the hype in archery was all about. Photos below show them taking turns at shooting.
While shooting for the first time, an instructor makes sure that the form, stance, grip and position of the bow and arrow are correct to avoid any accidents.
Going solo now after a few tries. The targets are movable and one can shoot at a distance of either 6 meters or 10 meters.
Photo below shows my daughter finally picking up her choice of bow from the rack and getting ready to target shoot.
Pure concentration is necessary to be able to hit the target.
The rate being charged by Gandiva is Philippine Pesos 200 (roughly US$4) for 20 arrows. That's 10 pesos a pop. They do offer membership which would be a lot cheaper because the fee would be 2,500 pesos (US$50) every month with no limit to the number of arrows one can shoot for the whole month. The only catch here is that if the range is full, the member has to wait until there's a vacancy before he can take his turn. Priority is given to walk-in customers.
Photo below shows the results of the group's target shooting.
Holes in the paper target shows where the arrows hit.
The three archers from Panem (of the movie Hunger Games)
Ooops. Looks like no one hit the bull's eye but practice makes perfect. I am sure they are all raring to get back and try again as soon as the Covid-19 problem goes away. When they do I'll make sure to update you on their improved aim. Meanwhile, I am also enclosing a video of my son while target shooting at the range. He too would want to hit the range again. Hopefully it is sooner than later.
All for now for this segment of Market Friday. Hope you enjoyed this post. Maybe soon (I hope) when all this pandemic is behind us some of you can try out archery. Who knows? You just might have the talent for it. Meanwhile, please stay safe everyone and may you all have a blessed weekend. See you next week.
(All photos, except the first, are from my daughter who gave me permission to use them for this post. Thanks dear.)