The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Many ministers bitten by vaastu bug

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Sunday, Jul 06, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Many ministers bitten by vaastu bug

T.S. Ranganna and B. S. Satish Kumar

A few buildings are considered as jinxed by politicians
Changes being made in official residence of Nanjundaswamy

— Photo: K. Murali Kumar

FOR THE RIGHT ENERGY?: Work in progress at a ministerial bungalow on T. Chowdiah Road.

BANGALORE: Politicians in India’s software capital seem to be infected by the vaastu virus. Such is the influence of vaastu that some ministers want their palatial official residences to be made vaastu compliant before they occupy them.

Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa is leading from the front. “Anugraha”, the official residence of the Chief Minister – to which Mr. Yeddyurappa is set to move in – is being altered. While the officials maintain that the building is only being renovated, it is understood that some Vaastu corrections are being effected.

The entrances facing the north-west direction in some of the rooms were being closed. These are the rooms and office spaces which are meant for holding meetings and receiving important visitors. At the same time, the entrances towards the north-east direction have been retained. The other works include painting and changing of glazed tiles.

Similarly, construction activity towards the north-east corner of the building has been taken up in the residence allotted to Women and Child Welfare Minister P.M. Narendraswamy for vaastu corrections.

Sources said most ministerial quarters, including “Anugraha”, had undergone changes to suit vaastu norms in the past. Hence there was no need for effecting any major changes.

The former Chief Minister S.M. Krishna, who had stayed in “Anugraha”, had then made several changes to make the building vaasthu-compliant.

It is only in the last 10 years that even the ministers have started effecting changes in the government quarters to make them vaastu compliant. There are instances wherein politicians have lost power despite effecting vaastu changes.

It all started when the former Chief Minister the late D. Devaraj Urs, who was residing at Ballabrooie Guest House, had to face an unexpected political downfall. His followers and even adversaries started attributing his sudden downfall to the “defects” in the official bungalow. Later, a part of the land belonging to Ballabrooie, was utilised for building a designated official residential quarters for the Chief Secretary.

Similarly, the government bungalow on Crescent Road, which houses the Karnataka Judicial Academy, is “jinxed” after the death of then Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Abdul Nazir Sab, who stayed there.

Political leaders such as S. Ramesh and M. Raghupathi who stayed in this house abruptly lost power. There were no takers for this majestic bungalow following which it was converted into the judicial academy.

The latest building to be jinxed is “Cauvery”, which is located in the upmarket Kumarakrupa Road next to Anugraha. It was occupied by the former Chief Minister the late J.H. Patel, the former Speaker M.V. Venkatappa and the former Deputy Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

The vaastu worries are not confined to ministers and their official bungalows. A prominent former Janata Dal (Secular) minister who joined the Congress and became an MLA changed his residence.

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