The Hindu : WTC had Vasthu flaws, says study

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Sep 13, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Kerala

WTC had Vasthu flaws, says study

By Radhakrishnan Kuttoor

PATHANAMTHITTA Sept. 12. The ill-fated World Trade Center (WTC) was doomed right from the beginning, according to the findings of an exhaustive study by a team of experts from the Government-run Vasthu Vidya Gurukulam at Aranmula, near here.

The study, following the WTC collapse, was based on the principles of Vasthu Sastra, the ancient Indian architecture stream. The expert team was led by the Gurukulam Dean, Kanippayoor Krishnan Nampoothirpad. The Gurukulam executive director, P.N. Suresh, architectural engineer, P.P. Surendran, and the faculty member, Balakrishna Warrier, who is also the Government astrologer, were the other team members.

According to Mr. Suresh, the venture was taken up following an e-mail query from Hiran Sreeranganathan, an Indian computer professional in New York, asking about the Vasthu analysis of the WTC.

According to Mr. Nampoothiripad, an analysis of all available details on the plot, plan and design of the WTC shows that it has completed its `lifespan' two years ago when it crumbled down in terrorist attacks. The study has taken the south-west part of the Manhattan city as the `Vasthu mandala' for analysis according to the `Veedhi kalpana' in the Vasthu Sastra. `Vasthu mandala' is the plot specified for the planning of a building and other artefacts. The form description in Vasthu Sastra is based on the perimeter as the key parameter.

Mr. Nampoothiripad says that the `Vasthu mandala' is seen to be symbolic of the cosmos with the `Brahmasthana' as its central region.

The `Brahmasthana' is surrounded by nine `veedhis' (enveloping paths) and only the four inner `veedhis' are recommended for construction of buildings.

According to Mr. Nampoothripad, the fourth and fifth `veedhi' should be avoided for building construction while the seventh and eighth are suited for only structures which stand lower than the main building. The WTC stood in the seventh and eighth `veedhis', which is unacceptable under the `Veedhi kalpana' principles.

The 16-acre plot where the WTC stood was assigned as per the `Pada kalpana' principle (Pada is a linear measurement). There are nine lines to be considered in `Pada kalpana'. The one from south to north is called `Yama sutram' and the one from south-east to north-west is `Mrutyu sutram'. It is found that the `Yama sutram' had touched WTC-II and the `Mrutyu sutram' passed through the WTC-I. These are not good omens as per the Vasthu Sastra principles, says the study report.

Mr. Nampoothiripad says the `Pada kalpana' does not permit construction of a building in an area through which the `Mrutyu sutram' and `Yama sutram' pass.

The Vasthu Sastra prescribes five different stages of Childhood, Teenage, Youth, Old age and Death for each space according to its perimeter. The Gurukulam study reveals that the WTC with a perimeter of 25,359.36 cm was inside the `Death space'.

The WTC-I and WTC-II with heights of 1,368 ft and 1,362 ft stood in the Agni (fire) space and incidentally they were razed to ground in a fire that engulfed them after terrorists crashed two planes into them.

Moreover, right from the planning stage to ribbon-cutting, almost all construction activities were carried out at astrologically inauspicious time.

The report says that the time when the WTC caught fire after the attack was `Agnibhootodaya' period.

The report also points out several astrological flaws in the construction procedures of the WTC.

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