“By Rekha Nambiar”

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Someone recently asked me if Feng Shui or Vaastu can be taken seriously by any ‘rational’ person. I presume that all subscribers to ‘rational’ thought would accept Darwin’s theory of evolution. And wasn’t it he who first brought to us the theory of the survival of the fittest?. Whether that applies to a species that survives and adapts to its surroundings or a theory that has withstood the vicissitudes of time and has remained virtually unchanged in principle, the reasoning behind them is essentially the same. And both theories can be explained scientifically and metaphysically. And they would not have survived if humans had no practical use for them. They are not the by-products of either religion or philosophy. Their sole aim is to achieve a harmony between man and his environment; an alignment with cosmic principles and a respect for nature and its laws.

Both these ancient theories are based primarily on the theory of elements and their effects on life with respect to the magnetic axis of Earth. Everything is related to space and time and does not exist in a vacuum. Coordinates on this x-y axis are essential for any activity and it is not surprising that they form the core of these two approaches. Just like the body needs nutrition and the proper environment; a premises, commercial or residential, requires the necessary factors essential for its health. Its health, or the lack of it, has a direct impact on those who inhabit its space. And since living space is always treated as one entity just like the human body, it is essential that one ensures that all its parts are functioning at optimal levels. Vaastu and Feng Shui help us create spaces that are more conducive to our well being and in tune with cosmic order. And just as doctors cannot prevent the existence of disease or change a man’s destiny, one cannot expect these disciplines to miraculously cure all the malaises that affect a particular space. It seeks to improve with the limited tools and knowledge at its disposal.

The keywords here are tools and knowledge. Smart packaging and successful PR has led people to DIY Feng Shui and Quack Vaastu which are not only ineffective but can considerably worsen an already difficult situation. And if doing-it-yourself-home-remedies were so effective or simple one would imagine that a theory that has been around for thousands of years would have made us all ‘experts’ by now!. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. There are a lot of so called Feng Shui practitioners and Vaastu professionals who offer their ‘expert’ advice applied en masse!!!!.

The principles of Vaastu are predominantly based on the rays of the sun and the energies of five elements. And when one follows its application as a whole rather than ‘hijack’ parts to suit a specific requirement, only then will its effects be realized. And just like a peace accord signed under tenuous (and questionable) circumstances falls through at even the hint of discord, if your application of Vaastu lacks conviction and respect for its laws, your ‘remedies’ will not withstand the slightest tremor of reality.

Astrology, Vedic and Chinese, is inextricably linked to both these theories, because space and time are not mutually exclusive. In Vaastu, the significations are based on compass directions. Horoscopes are made for houses based on their ‘year of birth’ so to speak. Feng Shui asserts that significations vary with time and astrological calculations for the house are essential in determining the ‘qi’ of the house and analyzing the shortcomings. Although there are a great deal of similarities between the two theories and both are based on the elements and the flow of energy it is not advisable to follow the instructions of a practitioner who combines both disciplines to provide solutions. You can always have a second opinion before you decide on surgery but you should only have one doctor and one prescribed treatment.

Vaastu consultants are still a far more affordable option for the reasonably well-off Indian. I doubt it will be long before American consumerist ideology shall top it with pepperoni and oregano and home deliver it riding on smart packaging and global advertising budgets. So make the most of it while you can! DIY Feng Shui is already here at ‘discounted’ rates!!!. But beware, advice that is light on your pockets may not necessarily be effective for solving your problems just as consultants that charge your weight in gold need not be experienced.

And for those that balk at its authenticity in the name of defending science it would be interesting to note that the scientific principles of these theories were established and practiced long before science staked its claim upon those very principles. There is nothing mystical about them and if a practitioner has some scientific grounding he/she will be able to explain it in those terms. Yes, there have been distortions and unnecessary commercialization, but that does not detract from its primary objective. And if over the years fact cannot be separated from mythology, that is an unavoidable fallout of attempting to capture the imagination of the layman (as any student of advertising will tell you). Give computers a couple of thousand years of exposure to the masses and Bill Gates may be deified! (Certain politicians have managed that within their own lifetime so why should we be surprised). If you are willing to look, fact can always be separated from fiction and mythology seen as a language not method.

(Appeared in Interior Spaces Blog)

Image: Michelle Meiklejohn / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

For most of us a beverage is part of our daily life. It could be a fruit juice, cup of coffee or butter milk. We use all sorts of containers to drink them – Glass, steel mugs, porcelain and so on. What is common to all the beverages and the containers? They tend to stain the surface where it is placed.

Cold drinks gather precipitation on the outside. These slowly trickle down form beads of liquid and finally fall onto the table or which ever surface the container is placed on.

Hot drinks do the reverse. They heat the surface and cause scarring or leave different sorts of stains on the surface. The end result is that our precious table surfaces made of wood or glass tend to accumulate grime which looks particularly disgusting from some angles and based on the lighting of the room.

Image Courtesy : flickr.com

Given the fact that water in most of our homes is hard and salty in nature (or has sugar – in case of soft drinks), you would see stains immediately on the surface and some of them can be hard to remove.

So what is the solution for this? It is very simple. Use – Coasters. Perhaps you havent heard of the name, but you have certainly used it in one form or the other. Coaster is a simple layer of either plastic or cloth or paper, which sits in between the glass and the table surface. All the spills and chills are protected by the coaster.

If the coaster is made of cloth (or rarely paper – disposable ones), it can not only protect the surface of the paper, but also be use to wipe out spillage.

Here is a sample image of coaster. You can choose your shape and colors to match the decor or your home.

Image courtesy : global-b2b-network.com

Coasters can be made of :

• Wood
• Plastic
• Leather
• Cloth
• Paper (disposable)
• Glasss
• Steel
• Bamboo
• Leaves! (disposable)

We got a glimpse of this product in a shopping mall in Mumbai. This is Forbes’ answer to Pureit from HUL.

It is a 5-stage water purifier with SureBoil technology. It seeks and destroys harmful bacteria and virus, removes organic and physical impurities and gives water “as pure as boiled water with natural taste”.

Features

• Water level indicator
• Two way tap to monitor flow
• Unique 5 stage purification process
• No boiling required
• No electricity required
• No running water
• Kills disease causing bacteria & virus
• Available in two sizes 18 & 25 liters

The price as mentioned on the site is Rs. 1800/-

For more details visit: http://corporate.eurekaforbes.com/corporate-index.php

Here is snapshot of the product in the mall which is 50 rupees more expensive.

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In the past we had written about individual flush tank pieces. These are connected to the WC via a tube which carries the water from the tank and flushes the WC with some force. Today we show you a combo piece.

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Note that in the picture the flush tank is not wall mounted. Instead it is part of the WC itself. It looks elegant and doesn’t crowd the wall. The unit is seamless and has no joints that are visible. It really enhances the visual appeal. It would surely be more expensive than the individual units but if you have taste for aesthetics, this could be a choice.

Also note how dry the floor of the bathroom is. Ideally this is how all the bathroom surfaces should look like. They avoid accidents and reduce the chance of your floor developing leaks and cracks due to water seepage.

On the right is a normal toilet paper dispenser and on the left is the health faucet which we have already written about on aavaas. The place where the health faucet’s pipe meets the water supply, is also a regular tap for usage. One the left extreme one can see a dustbin. This is a very good practise. You can dispose of unnecessary stuff into the dustbin and not into the WC as some people do. This includes, shampoo sachets, pieces of soap, plastic covers and the like. The would block your septic tank and you would have to incur additional expenses in clearing these out.

We are equally pleased by the tiles on the wall. The texture is different and not the usual plain and boring type.

We had mentioned sweet home 3D software on aavaas before.

Given below is one of the concept homes that I created using this software. I am neither an architect nor a civil engineer. It was created merely to test the software. I have not utilized all the features of the software yet.

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The source file is quite heavy and hence I am not attaching the same here. If someone wants it, I could upload the same.

Yet another picture we would like to present and talk about. This time it is the shower and tap set which would go into the bathroom.

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The tap system you see at the bottom is a warm and cold water dispenser. It has two channels for letting water stream out. First is the tap below.There is a knob in the centre which can be shifted to either left or right. Left selects the dispenser to shower and right selects the dispenser to the regular tap. (can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer).

The warm and cold knobs can be seen in the picture. Usually the warm knob has a red ring to identify the same and the cold knob has a blue ring. The letters “h” and “c” are also found on some knobs. One can select the temperature by adjusting both the knobs accordingly.

Once the desired temperature has been set, one can regulate the water flow by the central lever. Note the stainless steel soap dispenser.

Also you might be wondering what the little steel plate next to the shower head is? It is a retractable cord which is used to support a bathroom curtain if required. on the opposite end of the wall, there would be a socket into which the nylon rope would fit in.

We hope you found this post useful.

Continuing from our previous article, here are some more vendors who distribute LPG connections for Domestic use.

Indian Oil Corporation has their own brand called INDANE.

You can check all details pertaining to their services here :

http://www.iocl.com/Products/Indanegas.aspx

Now coming to private players. We have the following:

Supergas

They promise a hassle free connection for Indian homes. You can check further details here:

http://www.supergas.com/hasslefree.htm

Currently, their domestic network is available in the following states – Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.

The last one that we have in this list is from Caltex.

Check their website : http://www.e-lpg.com/cgil/

We hope you found this two part article useful. Undoubtedly more and more things are moving online.

If you are aware of more private players in the LPG domestic arena, please let us know via a comment.

A large portion of the Indian homemakers use LPG cylinders in their kitchen to cook. We thought of throwing some light on the various vendors that are available in India today who deal with domestic LPG connections.

Image Courtesy : knowledgebase-script.com

The first name in this category would be Bharat Gas.

A brand owned by Bharat Petroleum, Bharat gas caters to domestic LPG consumers. You can check a lot of details such as distributor list online at their website. They even have online booking for gas connection.

http://www.ebharatgas.com/ebgas/pages/index.jsp

The second in the list would be Hindustan Petroleum. Their product is called HPGAS.

 HP Gas is Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG), popularly known as cooking gas is a mixture of Hydrocarbons which are gaseous at normal temperature but can be liquified at moderate pressure and can be stored in cylinders as liquid under pressure and is drawn out and used as gas.

Like Bharatgas HP also offers a lot of facilities online.

For bookings please visit : http://jihaan.hpcl.co.in/booking/Default.aspx

For complaints and feedback please visit : http://jihaan.hpcl.co.in/cms/register.aspx

More vendors in Part 2 of this article. Some LPG Facts for you:

    Since LPG is almost twice the weight of air it tends to settle down at floor level particularly in depressions, hence care has to be taken in locating gas installations in the house . Also the fact that 1 cc of liquid LPG multiplies into about 270 cc of gaseous LPG helps it spread very rapidly in the atmosphere, hence if a gas cylinder leaks it should immediately be removed to an open area.

This is the final part of the article. In the picture below you can see that the tank has been fitted on to the wall. There are two brackets into which the tank slides into.

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In the picture above you can see the stream of water gushing into the tank since the float is down and the valve is open.

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In this picture you can see two things. We have filled the tank completely and the float has effectively closed the inflow of water.

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We have also fitted the “bridge” before going on to close the tank.

This is an alternative view of the tank.

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Here the tank has been closed and now is fully operational.

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Some tips to ensure that your tank is hassle free..

• Periodically clean the interiors of your tank and remove debris, dirt from the interiors. 
• Check if the rubber washers are in a good condition. Replace them if they seem to have worn out.
• Once in a while let the tank drain out completely and let the unit dry for a while.
• Do not keep any heavy item on top of the tank lid.
• If any part is not operation – replace immediately as you can save precious water.
• Wipe clean the tank with a cloth to prevent salt stains.

Hope you found this article useful.

Yesterday we briefly introduced you to the parts within the tank. There is the main valve, the float and the operational handle.

The tank is made of plastic as you can see from the picture below.

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The hole that you see on the front is where the handle goes in.

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These pictures show you the lid of the tank and also what we call “the bridge”. The bridge is a device which is used to hold  the tank together when it is filled with water. It is am improvised design. Earlier tanks did not have this and as a result the tank would bulge one way due to the weight of the water inside and eventually break.

There are 4 openings in a flush tank. The first is something we already discussed. It appears in the front where the operating handle would be mounted. The tank has two inlet holes on each side. This is to give a generic design so that you can adapt the main inlet valve from either side depending on your bathroom’s design.

The last of the holes is at the bottom and this is where  the water is expelled out of.You can see the pictures below for the same.

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In the second picture the main valve has been fitted into.

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It is a simple twist and turn mechanism. The base however has to be screwed onto the tank. Believe us – no tools are required to repair/replace these parts.

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In this picture you can see that we have fitted the handle on to the tank with the lever attached to the main valve. when you turn the handle on from the outside you lift the main valve and “flush” the toilet as all the water goes into the WC.

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And finally in this picture you can see that we have fitted the float as well. The float is part of the inlet system. SO the main valve and the flush tank are connected to each other by means of a flexible pipe.

More in final part.