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Vastu Matters

January 15, 2025

The subtle influences of the traditional concepts of Vastu can help make the kitchen create a conducive ambience and effect on the residents of any house.


For a country with such traditional ideas about the kitchen space, the ancient understanding of Vastu principles is fast gaining a lot of attention. Vastu - a science for those who believe in it - balances subtle influences of nature and directions on the activity in a certain physical space.


In Vedic Cosmology, developed aeons before Galileo, the surface of the earth is represented as a sphere and not as a flat surface. The exact words used are Cakracasah parinaham prthivya, which means ‘people who reside on the surface of earth circumference" [Rig Veda 1.33.8].

The importance of food being cooked in the right direction, i.e., southeast, is crucial in Vastu. Photo Courtesy: Dane Deaner on Unsplash

Vastu at home


A house is traditionally taken as the body of a human being, described in Vastu literature as Vastu Purusha. Roughly drawn as a squat human figure, he is depicted as lying on it with his head in the North-East and legs in the South-West. Vastu shastra prescribes desirable characteristics for sites and buildings based on the flow of energy within the body of this purusha and how it interacts with the changing seasons and directions. It exercises subtle and subliminal control over its inhabitant’s health, moods and inner equanimity. The study of Vastu and its application helps to balance it all for the good of those who inhabit the space.


According to Vastu, the area that defines the part of the house where food is cooked, stored and prepared, and often served as well, should necessarily be situated in the South-East direction. Traditionalists aver that all directions have a presiding deity and, the deity of the South-East is Agni Shakti. They claim that this direction is governed by the influences of Mars. The planet is fiery, and since the essential feature of the kitchen is fire - as it is on fire that any food is cooked - it becomes important to take the fire element into account while positioning the kitchen space. Therefore, Agni or the ‘fire element’ should be located in the South-East direction in any residence.

Colours have a role to play in the kitchen area according to Vastu principles. The kitchen is ideally painted in white. Photo Courtesy: Designer Vaishali Lahoti Shah

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Importance in the kitchen


Food impacts individuals’ lives in so many ways - physically, emotionally and spiritually - thus, the importance of food being cooked in the right direction, i.e., southeast, is crucial. The subtle effect of directions comes across in equally subtle ways since food is verily the life force.


Unlike in the past, when the principles of Vastu were framed, there is hardly any kitchen today in urban India - except perhaps in remote towns - where the fire is lit without gas stoves, ovens, or electrical or electronic appliances. These appliances generating fire should be placed in the South-East direction. The cooking platform, too, should be stationed in the same direction. The idea behind this is that the person cooking the food stands in such a way that he or she faces the East.

The area that defines the part of the house where food is cooked, stored and prepared, and often served as well, should necessarily be situated in the South-East direction. Photo Courtesy: Bilal Mansuri on Unsplash

Vastu also specifies other details for storage areas and placement of other elements like water. Going by those indications, experts in science advise that the position of any appliance like refrigerators, blenders, flour grinders or similar food preparation devices should be in the South-West direction of the kitchen.


Apart from this, colours, too, have a role to play in the kitchen area according to Vastu principles. The kitchen is ideally painted in white. The idea is to keep the atmosphere and its influences peaceful. The colour red denotes fire, passion and enraged senses; hence, it should be avoided since the kitchen - where food is prepared - should provide a calming ambience to the user.

BALANCING THE FIVE ELEMENTS


According to Vastu shastra, the world comprises five basic elements. There is an invisible and constant relation between all the five elements. Thus, the premise of Vastu shastra is that house owners can improve their conditions by properly designing their buildings by understanding the effectiveness of these five natural forces.


EARTH (Bhumi) - Earth, the third planet in order from the sun, is a big magnet with the North and South poles as centres of attraction. Its magnetic field and gravitational force have considerable effects on everything on the Earth - living and non-living.


WATER (Jal) - This is represented by rain, river, and sea and is in the form of liquid, solid (ice) and gas (steam, cloud). It forms part of every plant and animal. Our blood is mostly water.


AIR (Vayu) - As a life-supporting element, the air is a very powerful life source. Human physical comfort values are directly and sensitively dependent on correct humidity, airflow, the temperature of the air, air pressure, air composition and its contents.


FIRE (Agni) - Represents light and heat, which account for day, night, the seasons, energy, enthusiasm, passion and vigour.


SPACE (Akasha) – The Akasha provides shelter to all the above elements. It is also considered the primary conductor of all energy sources within the universal context – physical energies such as sound and light, social energies such as psychological and emotional and cognitive energies such as intellect and intuition.