01-15-2009, 11:24 PM
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'Vasthu' craze grows in Kerala, experts sound caution note</b>
Kochi (PTI): As the craze for 'Vasthu Sastra', an ancient traditional architectural science, grows in Kerala, experts in the field are sounding a note of caution.
Cashing in on the ever-growing demand for 'Vasthu' are flat, apartment and villa builders, who are promoting their units as Vasthu compliant, even as followers of this ancient science find it difficult to accept.
"Vasthu does not mean mere changing of doors and windows and adding more rooms. It is more than that," says Manoj S Nair, consultant engineer at Vasthu Vidya Gurukulam in Pathnamthitta district. People are being 'misguided' by advertisements from builders, he claims, adding that Vasthu is being used as a 'tool' by promoters to commercialise their buildings.
Namboodiripad, whose family is associated with Vasthu since nearly 100 years, said builders do not necessarily follow guidelines given to them by Vasthu experts.
Several builders have told customers that their units are Vasthu compliant to capitalise on the Vastu craze. A private builder here has even developed a 'Vastu Gramam', claiming to be the first of its kind residential villa project in Asia, built incorporating the tenets of 'Vastu Vidya'.
The Gramam, designed by well-known Vasthu expert, Kaanippayyoor Krishnan Namboodiripad, is spread over 10 acres at nearby Kakkanad and has 120 independent villas. It combines the best of traditional values and modern conveniences, Heera Group, developers of the project, say.
The whole project, including the roads, has been constructed based on the Vastu principles, the group sources claim.
'Vasthu' craze grows in Kerala, experts sound caution note</b>
Kochi (PTI): As the craze for 'Vasthu Sastra', an ancient traditional architectural science, grows in Kerala, experts in the field are sounding a note of caution.
Cashing in on the ever-growing demand for 'Vasthu' are flat, apartment and villa builders, who are promoting their units as Vasthu compliant, even as followers of this ancient science find it difficult to accept.
"Vasthu does not mean mere changing of doors and windows and adding more rooms. It is more than that," says Manoj S Nair, consultant engineer at Vasthu Vidya Gurukulam in Pathnamthitta district. People are being 'misguided' by advertisements from builders, he claims, adding that Vasthu is being used as a 'tool' by promoters to commercialise their buildings.
Namboodiripad, whose family is associated with Vasthu since nearly 100 years, said builders do not necessarily follow guidelines given to them by Vasthu experts.
Several builders have told customers that their units are Vasthu compliant to capitalise on the Vastu craze. A private builder here has even developed a 'Vastu Gramam', claiming to be the first of its kind residential villa project in Asia, built incorporating the tenets of 'Vastu Vidya'.
The Gramam, designed by well-known Vasthu expert, Kaanippayyoor Krishnan Namboodiripad, is spread over 10 acres at nearby Kakkanad and has 120 independent villas. It combines the best of traditional values and modern conveniences, Heera Group, developers of the project, say.
The whole project, including the roads, has been constructed based on the Vastu principles, the group sources claim.