Want to own a house?

by G. K. Gurtu

Owning a house is the first priority after ‘Roti Aur Kapda ’. Man has developed a set of guidelines after centuries of observation and experience. Some of them may seem to be antiquated, impracticable and even laughable in this age of shortage of space and coming up of skyscrapers and multi- storey complexes. However, it may be useful to know some of these.

1. The first and foremost thing to know, astrologically speaking, is whether a person is destined to buy or construct a house or not. Otherwise the asset may not bring the desired results. The planet Mangal (Mars) is the signifier of landed property and the fourth House in the horoscope represents, among other things, owning / acquiring landed property. Therefore, the position of Mars along with aspect (Nazar) of Brahaspati (Jupiter) and Shani (Saturn) also is to be considered.

2. The history of plot/ house should also be investigated. It should neither be under distress disposal nor have an unpleasant history like illness, deaths, financial losses or any disaster suffered by the seller nor should be bought by using threats, coercion, intimidation, temptation, undue influence etc. Further, if, on digging the foundation, bones, a grave, a Tantrik pot, dried -up old well, tunnel etc. is revealed, the work should be stopped and the plot should be sold at the earliest.

3. Construction work should not begin when

3.1. Jupiter and Venus (Brahaspat and Shukra) are combust (Ast);

3.2. The Sun (Surya) is in Virgo sign (Kanya Rashi), in Gemini (Mithun) and in Pisces (Meen);

3.3. It is Malmas, Kharmas, Adhikmas and Shunyamas;

3.4. Main planets are retrogate;

3.5. The land (Dharti) is in sleep (Suptawastha) and not awake (Jagrat);

3.6. The fire (Agni) is overhead (Ooper) and not down below the earth (Pataal).

3.7. And finally, the auspicious day and time (Muhurt) should be fixed for and done during sunlight time and during moon-lit night fortnight (Shukla paksh).

4. The plot / house should not be near a drain, canal, burial place or cremation ground.

5. There should not be any Peepal (The Sacred Fig or Bo-Tree) or Barghad (Banyan) tree in the plot or inside the compound of the house. Any type of place of worship should also not be near enough so as to cast its shadow on the plot / house.

6. The main house should be a little away from the road and not stand bang on the road i.e. with a little break of open space or lawn in-between the road and the main house.

7. The plot / house should preferably be rectangular or square in shape and not trapezoidal, rhombus, triangular or multi – cornered in shape.

8. There should not be a depression or slope on the north and / or east side or facing the main gate. Nor there should be a pit, depression underground pit or tank and natural / artificial waterfall on Southwest side. Similarly, there should not be a water tank below the driveway. Further, it should not have a basement.

9. The plot / house should be facing east, north and west (in that order) and not south.

10. The family temple / worship room / place should either be in the north or east or preferably on the northeast corner and the idols or the pictures of gods and goddesses should be so placed that when one sits for Pooja he / she faces north or east side. The worship room should not be in the bedroom if the bedroom happens to be on that side. The bedroom should, preferably, be in the southwest side.

11. Kitchen / generator / transformer should be in the southeast side.

12. Toilet room should not be located on the north or east side and definitely not in the northeast corner.

13. Southeast side should be closed and not open.

14. Staircase: One should not have a spiral staircase as in a duplex house and the staircase should not either be in the centre or in the drawing room. The staircase should be on one side so that one may not have to walk or pass under it. One should not sleep under a staircase. The staircase should be located in the southeast or northwest side but not in the northeast side. The staircase should ascend clockwise and descend anti-clockwise. The steps in a staircase should be in odd numbers i.e. 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, etc.

15. The mirror should be hung on the eastern wall so that one stands facing east while looking at oneself in the mirror.

16. Guests and visitors should be entertained in the lobby, drawing room or living room and not allowed inside worship room, bedroom, bathroom or kitchen.

17. Main entrance door should be larger than the rest of the doors in the house. The main entrance should not pass through the kitchen. The number of the doors should be even i.e. 4, 6, 8, 12, 14 etc. but not 10, 20, 30 etc. to avoid 0 (zero). There should not be half arches over the doors, windows, ventilators etc. If the main gate faces west then the gate should be painted in black.

18. Pictures, paintings and statues showing earthquake, fire, funerals, graveyards, wild animals, demons, witches and old, ugly, crying or weeping faces, men and animals fights, bloodshed etc. must not be kept in the house. Instead, pictures etc. showing blooming flowers, happy smiling faces, cows, peacocks, pigeons, green mountains, verdant valleys, streams, rising sun, blue sky etc. should be kept.

19. Disused, discarded or broken items like idols, toys, clock / watches, fans, furniture, sewing machines, machinery, faded pictures, unusable clothes etc. should be disposed off earliest.

20. Thorny plants, lily flower- plants, plants with yellow flowers and plants from which white milky liquid oozes out on plucking leaves etc. should not be kept inside the house.

21. One should not sleep with head towards north and feet towards south to avoid the adverse effect of north and south poles.

22. The head of the family should occupy south-western room / place. This must not be given to children /relations /guests or partners /subordinates in a shop / office / factory, establishment etc. otherwise it will make others powerful, aggressive and undisciplined.

23. Shifting to a new house (owned or rented) should be avoided on Thursdays and also on Chaturthi and Chaturdashi of both Shukla as well as Krishna Paksh.

24. At the time of Grah Pravesh or shifting to a rented house a bucket full of water and a pot of Tulsi plant (Holy Basil) should be taken first inside the house and put in a room before any member of the family enters the house or the luggage is taken inside the house. The water of the bucket should then be thrown near the root of a grown up tree.

25. The photos of the dead relatives must not be put in the worship room. These should be hung on the south side wall or kept on a south side mantelpiece so that these face north direction. Further, these photo frames should have a garland around them.

26. The statue or the picture of the god / goddess should be on both side of a wall and not only on one (front or back) side of a wall. And should have a garland around it.

27. Wooden bed stead and other furniture should be preferred instead of steel.

About the author:

G. K. Gurtu, whose ancestors were the residents of Tankyapora (Amiya Kadal), Srinagar, belongs to that group of migrants which settled in Kashmiri Mohalla, Lucknow (UP) around 1780. He was Secretary, Kashmiri Samaj, Agra between 1988-90. He retired as Superintendent, National Sample Survey Organisation, (Govt. of India), in 1995. He lives in Faridabad and pursues creative writing and helps the needy.

Source: Kashmir Sentinel