‘No no. Check if the bedroom faces the North. That’s not good’, said one friend. ‘The North
is fine. It’s the South-East that is bad’, said another friend equally confidently. ‘It’s what direction the door faces that makes all the difference’, said an uncle. For Akhila, who was buying her first home at 27, this well-meaning advice seemed to be adding hassle to what had until then seemed a fairly simple task of checking on more mundane items like location, the quality of construction, and builder reputation in her home buying glossary. Vastu compliance? She hadn’t thought of that. Yet.
The ancient Indian system of architecture called Vastu has made a comeback over the past few decades and how! Its popularity has soared along with that of the Chinese system of Feng-Shui. But its popularity has also led to a flood of incorrect information, pseudo-Vastu scientists, and a host of Vastu products that were probably never mentioned in the ancient shastras. Its core principles are based on the movement of water, fire, earth, air, and space – all elements of Nature that are believed to allow the free flow of positive, natural energy.
