THE TOPOGRAPHY of the site has its implications on the life of the inhabitant. Therefore as per the Vaastu shastra, it is advisable to acquire additional land located towards the east or north of the existing site, for the investment to be worth it.

Similarly it is believed that an elevation in land in the western and southern parts of the site, would lead to a life of prosperity. Also one should go in for a site that is rectangular or square, and never a triangular one.

A spacious site should be preferred so as to facilitate the increasing number of rooms. The site could be at the confluence of two roads leading to north and east, straight without turns. If a site does not fall in line with the compass or direction, the house can be constructed consistent with the adjoining road or the neighboring houses.

Therefore a site possessing a straight and parallel road is considered best. However a site or plot towards an increasing northeast would augur well for the future of the resident.

And never select a site that protrudes towards northwest, southwest or southeast or a site that slopes towards southwest. Make sure that the rain water or sewage water does not flow through your land from the east or the northeastern direction, for it is believed that the residents of such a house can never have even a normal peaceful life.

If the road from your plot leads you towards east, north or northeast, it is considered to be very auspicious and if it leads to south or southwest it would cause misfortunes.

HOUSE CONSTRUCTION/ RESIDENCE

Keralites had the traditional houses nalukettu and ettukettu. The nalukettu is a type of house, mostly three-storeyed with staircases from inside, with a vacant space at the centre-square/rectangular shaped without the roof, allowing the circulation of fresh air.

The other rooms were arranged around this vacant space. The top floor was used for storing grains. While ettukettu, as the name suggests had more number of rooms and about two vacant spaces in between, each encircled by different types of rooms. The principles employed in both types of constructions are more or less similar.

Today, Kerala with a high-density of population and its resultant problem of space constraint, had made the people to think in terms of constructing a house with maximum facilities in the minimum occupied space. However a look at some of the principles of vaastu would hold one in good-stead in enhancing the prospects.

Kitchen/Hearth
The south-eastern corner, of the south–eastern side room is considered the ideal place for locating the hearth or the oven. A raised cooking platform could be built supporting the eastern wall. Under any circumstances, the oven should never be arranged northeast, for it is believed that it leads to the absence of male progeny. The Kitchen should never be arranged in the east, west, south and north directions. It should only be arranged in the southeast or northwest and there is scientific reason behind that. The reason being that the sunlight will enter these rooms, keeping the kitchen dry and devoid of any bad smell.

Prayer Hall
The Pedestal for installing the deity should be constructed facing the Western Wall, but very often people install the deity in the north-east, which would invite the curse of God rather than blessings. According to Vaastu, Sun being the visible God, one should pray either facing east or west.

The Muslims in India offer prayers facing west, for Mecca the holy city is located towards the west of India. The Hindus too offer prayers facing the west, though most of the temples face east. Research has proved that temples facing east flourish with devotees and wealth, similarly temples facing north flourish than the ones facing south.

Bed Room
After the daily routine and hefty work it is the bedroom that offers solace and peace of mind, and that could be the obvious reason why nature has endowed us with day and night. Therefore bedroom is significant and southwest is considered the ideal place of all the directions. Bedroom in south helps in maintaining a good health of the residents and west brings a peaceful life. It is said that a bedroom in the north leads to financial losses.

Bath Room
Generally bathrooms are constructed in three ways; it could be outside the house, attached to the bedrooms or inside the house. The bathrooms inside the house could better be built in the eastern or northern side rooms. Attached bathrooms can be built towards east of the southwestern bedroom, south to northwestern bedroom and towards west to southeastern bedroom.

As far as the outside bathrooms are concerned, if it’s the east -facing house the bathroom can be in the southeastern corner and if the house is facing south, the bathroom can be constructed in the backyard in the northwestern corner. In respect of houses facing west the backyard bathrooms can be in the east, thus the construction of these type of bathrooms varies with reference to the direction of the house.

Shelves/ Cabinets
Cabinets may be fitted to eastern walls from south to the north end, and eastern northeast can be left blank in the north. In the southern walls from east to West end or southern southeast can be left blank. Similarly the western walls of the western northwest can be left blank. However, according to vaastu, the northern walls can be fully utilized.

Toilets
The ideal place for locating an external toilet towards east is in the southeast away from the eastern compound wall in line with the house, without touching its wall. The septic tank for the toilets can be sunk in the eastern north.

Overhead Tanks
Construction of overhead tanks in the northeast is disastrous, for northeast is considered to be delicate. However if the construction of overhead tank cannot be ruled out, then heavier and elevated structures must be built in the northwest and southwest, so that the southwest could balance the load and ward of from the east. Instead the overhead tank can be constructed in the southwest, northwest or southeast corners.

Well or Borewell

Meticulous planning, care and caution has to be exercised in digging a well or bore well in a plot. Northeast is considered an ideal place for that. It can be either eastern northeast or northern northeast. The shape of the well can be a square or round below the ground level but the structure above the ground level must be round.