validation of traditional indian knowledge of home building

Abstract

Title of the Thesis: Validation of traditional Indian knowledge of home building newline2. Introduction: newlineThe word Traditional Indian Knowledge brings myriad of reactions from people in general and professionals in particular. For professionals it is like what is this; where does this fit into the professionalism we learnt and practice or it is our sacred tradition and one must follow it reverentially otherwise it would bring bad luck. newlineTo understand ancient Indian knowledge of home building (more often referred as vand#257;stu by general public) we can draw an analogy with the story of the blind men and the elephant that we read in school. Vand#257;stu is like that elephant. In the present context vand#257;stu has become a double-meaning word. One is the popular meaning, which means something mystical or superstitious or ritualistic that makes or breaks the life of the client. The other is the Sanskrit equivalent of home building or it can be defined as the Indian system of architecture. The common Sanskrit synonyms are vand#257;stu-vidya (knowledge of vastu) and sthand#257;patya (to establish). Etymologically vand#257;stu is derived from vastu (matter/earth); vand#257;stu is the act of modifying vastu (matter) into usable form (house, temple, towns, villages, furniture, vehicles, sculpture, and iconography). newlineSo when one says vand#257;stu, first try to find out what that person means; it could be either of the above or much more. In different contexts it could be that a when a person says it, he means it reverentially (like the name of a deity), sarcastically (like the honesty of lawyers), with abhorrence (like the name of a disease), with humor (like a joke), with mystery (like Hercule Poirot in a novel), academically (like a branch of knowledge) fashionably (vand#257;stu? It s out now, feng-shui is in!). The point I want to make is that it has different meanings in different contexts. However one cannot say never heard about it . It is either good or bad or ugly. newlineComing back to the elephant; vand#257;stu has many aspects or fields of knowledge.