Place for prosperity and peace

Who wouldn’t love positive energies and good vibes in their abode? Fortunately, you needn’t invest a lot to ensure happiness and peace in your life. All you need is some vastu shastra. The ancient science of vastu constitutes the mathematical design and determines areas associated with certain deities and natural elements that impact our physical, financial and spiritual wellbeing. A diverse field, it combines science, architecture, geography and spirituality. For those who don’t know how to go about this science, here’s a rundown of all the essential details:
Basics first

Usually, the construction of a house is marked by bhumi puja, which is considered to be an auspicious beginning that heralds a good start to the proceedings. According to Deepak Mittal, director, Pushpanjali Realm & Infratech Pvt. Ltd, the most auspicious direction for the entrance of a home is the east. “This is because the sun rises in the east and is said to bring in positive energy and light into the household. The other acceptable direction that the house entrance can face is towards the northeast. The southeast corner of the house is the most ideal one for the kitchen’s location and cooking should be done while facing the east. The master bedroom should be located at the southwest corner of an east-facing home. Square and rectangular-shaped bedrooms are recommended, so that you can leave the avant-garde construction to the other sections of the house,” he says.

Prasad Kulkarni, CEO, Mahavastu Mumbai, avers, “Vastu-complaint house is energy-friendly with 16 vastu zones and the panch tattva (Five Elements) in balance. The main aspects of consideration are the proper zonal location of the main entrance door and the rooms and other features (bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, study, dining, seating area, storage area, staircase and servant’s quarter, and so on). For example, a study in the west-south-west is an ideal location. The colour schemes - of walls, ceilings and floors, and the shapes, decorations and designs - in every room are important. The water boring should be in north-north-east or east-north-east, the toilet and septic tank in east-south-east, south-south-west and west-north-west. The exterior of the house is also important. Ensure that the garden is in the direction of north to southeast.”

Another important part of home, maintains Satyendra Tomar, JMD, Proplarity Group, is the puja room, and it should be in the northeast direction. “Location of windows and doors should be such that they allow fresh air in the entire home. Possibilities of greenery in balcony and main entrance can add magic to the home,” he says . Minu Sahni, assistant
manager, PR and design, Soul Space Projects Ltd, adds, “Stairs should not be in the corners, while going up one should rotate clockwise and the risers should always be in odd numbers.”

According to our ancient vastu shastra, leakage or seepage can create havoc in one’s life leading to spiritual and financial turmoil. “A damp wall indicates the draining out of positive energy. Dampness on the internal walls adjacent to the bathroom and kitchen indicates a possible leakage on the terrace. Further, dampness in the southwest region of a home is not considered auspicious.

Dampness of walls and peeling paint can have a bad effect on your health, too. Allergies, asthma and frequent headaches are common ailments for residents of a house where leakage persists. So it is important to fix the issue permanently,” advises Ashish Prasad, president, construction chemical division, Pidilite Industries.

In modern times

Keeping in tune with the times, vastu can also be interpreted in a contemporary fashion. Simple things like growing your own herbs at home or even using the right colour can change a lot of things.

“Apart from the important structural engineering mechanisms, the most important tool in the science of vastu is the magnetic compass, as it helps one deal with correct placement of the plot and the various rooms and decor objects within the plot. Sunlight, which is highly beneficial to human life, is made of the seven colours of the spectrum along with the ultraviolet and infrared rays. Also, the seven yogic chakras within the human body are influenced by respective colours,” says Yatnesh Pandey, chief manager, marketing, Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd.
If you’re not in the favour of incorporating any structural changes to your home, you can still imbibe vastu in decor with ease. A popular trend nowadays is placing either a Swastika or Om symbol at the door of the house; it’s known to spread positivity.

“It is believed that fire acts as a strong cosmic purifier. Lighting incense sticks in mornings and evenings is an easy way to ensure that. You can also hang a couple of metal bells at the entrance of your home or inside it. This will bring a break in the order of energy and also smoothen the flow of positive vibes in the house,” says Kaushiki Gon, style director, FabFurnish.com.

Creating beautiful skylights above the centre courtyard adds to the aesthetics of the building and creating water bodies within the courtyard is another latest trend. Suresh Gogia, MD, Ascent Group says, “Shrinking space of apartments have eliminated the space for plants. But placing bonsai, laughing Buddha and portable plants in the balcony has emerged as a trend to balance the greenery as well as inviting good luck in the house.”
Arjunpreet Singh Sahni, executive

director, Solitairian Group adds, “Vastu crystals, mirrors, wind chimes, plants can be used for removing the vastu dosha.” The best colours recommended in vastu for the kitchen are all shades of yellow, off-white or cream. Colours like blue and black should be totally avoided. The roof must always be painted white.

Balancing aesthetics

A key challenge is to ensure that vastu balances the aesthetics at home . “Vastu is all about the correct flow of energy in your home. What can be more aesthetic than that? So, if you are building a home without compromising on any factor of the shashtra, you will end up with an aesthetically-appealing home,” says Tanuj Shori, CEO and co-founder of Square Yards Consulting.

Not so surprisingly, there are also those who are not so enamoured by vastu. Says Dr R Kumar, managing director, Navin Housing and Properties, “I am not saying building as per vastu is wrong; it may also bring a psychological relief to those people who believe in vastu. But if the space is not properly planned with reference to functionality, orientation and flow of space, it will be either inconvenient to live in or could be inefficient use of space.”

One has to strike the right balance between aesthetics and vastu to retain the harmony. “Vastu suggests some simple rules to be followed. The magnetic energy of the earth and solar energy are best tapped by adopting the basics of these sciences.
Thus, there is a great need for the architects and vastu experts to co-ordinate;  an architect can build an aesthetically posh house whereas vastu-science assures peace, prosperity and progress to the inmates, says Devang Varma, director, Omkar Realtors & Developers Pvt. Ltd.