Woe is vastu

PREVENTIVE THERAPY: Satish Patwari relaxes at his recently renovated vastu-correct home. As little as five years ago anyone outside of So...

PREVENTIVE THERAPY: Satish Patwari relaxes at his recently renovated vastu-correct home.

As little as five years ago anyone outside of South India would not have known anything about an ancient science called Vastushastra. But nowadays apart from the cocktail party circuit 8212; where no conversation is complete without talk of vastu-correct houses 8212; builders, real-estate agents, architects and designers are wary of scratching out new plans without first consulting a vastu pandit.

Initially the idea was met with a certain amount of incredulity. Simone Dubash, noted interior designer, at first thought her clients had quot;lost their mindsquot; when they contradicted her suggestions. She was told that doorways should be flush with doorframes, beds should face a certain direction and beams should not lie over beds. At that time quot;it made no sensequot; to her but since the client was the master, Simone compromised her aesthetic sense. And for the past five years, she always mentions vastu planning before she sits down to pencil the blue print.

Architect Hafeez Contractor finds himself in the same boat. Talking about the flurrying interest in Vastushastra he says, quot;The blindness of people really surprises me.quot; While he finds certain principles practical and worthwhile, he disapproves to the point of suspicion when faced with the rigid inflexibility of some clients. quot;Today, the way we build and live has changed, and one should not get bogged down in details and be inflexible.quot;

Nonetheless, Vastushastra 8212; which in the Sanskrit means science of architecture8217; 8212; has acquired a halo of sanctity that is hard to argue with.And right down to hapless real estate brokers everyone has to kowtow the vastu-line. A harried agent talks about a couple that rejected 19 houses 8212; on rent, not even for purchase 8212; because they had bad vastu and would clash with their karma.

As the lucre of Vastushastra consultancy has been realised, all and sundry have gotten into the game: astrologers, architects, builders and even real estate agents, have become practioners almost overnight. Advertisements for new housing developments almost inevitably are labeled vastu-correct.

And its marketability has further marred its scientific quality. For instance, ancient texts on vastu advise placement of kitchen burners in the northeast wing of the home. The logic behind this is simple: southwesterly winds will direct kitchen smells away from the dwelling. But once the logic becomes generalised into a rule, its utility is lost. Often winds can come from other directions. But many of Contractor8217;s clients have insisted on having their kitchen in the northeast, fearing disaster or worse, misfortune.

While those in the business disagree that this is a post-industrial superstition, most agree with Contractor that everything like this has a kernel of truth in it8217;. This truth, that vastu is a practical science, is often lost in the commercial rabble. Architects heed vastu when it means a lower overhead in their construction. Manoj Kumar, a well-established vastu consultant, describes the science as quot;a dying dream.quot; He add, quot;Those who practice this form of planning and design do it from compulsion, not conviction.quot;

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Businessman Satish Patwari has recently redone his home, office space and factories according to vastu. He accounts its appeal to factors other than a tranquil and healthy life. While the initial craze first appeared soon after liberalisation, the economic slump that soon followed had businessmen searching for ways to ensure the safety of their new ventures.

Vastushastra was appealed to in order to protect against bankruptcy. When asked what he knew of the principles behind the placement of rooms according to wind direction, he said that in the diagrams shown by his consultant there were pictures of vastu gods8217; reclining in certain parts of the house, and that was what guided the placement of the rooms.

Manoj Kumar, while convinced of the innate wisdom of his practice, claims that vastu does not stand above the passage of time, probability and common sense. quot;It is not miraculous, but rather therapeutic,quot; he says. But he claims it is peddled as a cure-all by instant practioners8217;, most of whom have no knowledge of the ancient texts.

The entrance of quacks is confirmed by a glance at many classified columns in newspapers and in book reviews that have appeared in recent years, many of which extol manuals that have doubtful scriptural basis. Practioners charge by the hour and engage in gimmickery and fear-mongering to which their clients seem to respond better than to the practical utility of vastu. quot;A husband and wife love the promises of these pandits,quot; comments Contractor.

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Within a short period, vastu guidelines have become almost as ubiquitous as municipal zoning rules in the construction of new buildings. And like all other rules, it too is becoming subordinated to the bottom line. Says Contractor, quot;Finally it boils down to affordability. No one-bedroom-house- wallah talks about Vastushastra. It is a rich man8217;s game.quot;