FORUM
Make your spaces hassle-free
— Photo: R.M. Rajarathinam
FOLLOW NATURE: Vaasthu principles give guidance in designing interiors.
This is the second in our Forum series where our panel of experts in PropertyPlus respond to queries from the public seeking vaasthu recommendations, legal advice, architect and interior decorator’s take, finance aspects and engineeri
ng nuances.
The new column — with experts coming together under one roof to help address the stream of queries — takes up questions that will at once attend to several common problems in a broader perspective to help everyone sailing in the
same boat.
The question-and-answer format this week is answered by
Niranjan Babu (son of astrologer B.V. Raman and CEO and Publisher of The Astrological Magazine); and N.C.S. Raghavan (Chartered Accountant, author of several books and articles) and Arvind Raghavan (Solicitor, author of several books and ar
ticles).
Beyond the physical aspects of construction
Question: In your previous ‘Forum’ column (PropertyPlus, June 2) you had answered Radhika Menon’s query in which she had referred to the Vaasthu Purusha Mandala. Although your answer was directed towards her main ques
tion, we would have liked to know what this belly of the Vaasthu purusha means and why that portion has to be kept empty. Please give us explanations as to what this Vaasthu Purusha Mandala is all about and what all his bodily portions represent in the house. Is Vaasthu science based on the Vaasthu Purusha?
Poornima Jayaram,
Hampankatta, Mangalore
Our panellist, Niranjan Babu, Vaasthu Consultant, answers:
There are two specific aspects covering Vaasthu Purusha Mandala. Vaasthu Purusha is the mystical or spiritual lord of a mandala or the enclosed ground area, wherein he lies with his face down. The mandala is a cosmic diagram of the enclosure where Vaasthu Purusha manifests. He identifies the importance of an area by placing his head to the north-east (balanced thinking) and his lower body to the south-west (stability and strength). His navel is in the centre of the area (cosmic awareness) and his hands are to the north-west and south-east (movement and energy).
Vaasthu Purusha is space personified and he is said to have been born from Lord Shiva’s perspiration, when the Lord fought the demon Andhaka and ultimately killed him. Each enclosure, whether it is for human habitation (residences or offices) or divine habitation (temples and religious structures), is identified with a plan that is referred to as the Vaasthu Purusha Mandala. It symbolically signifies the three aspects of a structure — para (supreme), sookshma (subtle) and sthoola (gross).
Most texts on Vaasthu Shastra talk about the 64-module plan for temples and shrines and the 81-module plan for residences and other buildings that are not religious structures. The mandala is an area of space defined by an enclosure. Vaasthu Purusha is superimposed into the enclosure to indicate the birth of a structure from Nature. The Vaasthu Purusha is held in place by 45 deities — 32 in the outer enclosure and 13 in the inner enclosures. Food and fruits are offered to these deities before construction to please the Vaasthu Purusha, who is said to confer health, prosperity, peace and happiness to the residents.
The concept of Vaasthu Purusha Mandala extends beyond the mere physical aspects of construction. While the modern architects identify the physical aspects of a structure in terms of beauty, ventilation, sunlight orientation and location, the ancient masters looked into the metaphysical (spiritual) and subtle aspects of a structure too.
The mandala provides a useful design module for locating the various rooms of a habitation, the measurements (in units of hasta and angula) of which are based on a set of six formulae normally referred to as the <
em style="i">Ayadi Shadvarga. The ancient masters did not overlook the importance of comfort and convenience of the residents in terms of ventilation/sunlight.
The diagonals running from the south-west to the north-east and south-east to north-west through the centre of an area, known as Konasutras, are sensitive. The points where the horizontal and vertical lines of each module of a mand
ala intersect these diagonals are known as m
ahamarmas or marmas and are also highly sensitive zones, the sensitivity being extreme around the central module or nabhi of the enclosure.
The sensitive width of the diagonals, the horizontal and vertical lines and the marmas that should not coincide with the walls and beams are 1/24th, 1/16th and 1/8th of a module (of the 81-module plan) respectively.
Beams, depressions, water, columns and pillars are to be avoided in these areas. The placement of the deities in specific areas of the mandala has significance in deciding the location of the foundation, the walls, beams, pillars and columns. The Brahmasthana (or the central nine modules of the 81-module plan) is the most important and sensitive area of a structure. Generally this is best left open as a courtyard in human habitations (residences) that has a shikara pyramid based on the paramasayika mandala.
The Brahamasthana is ideal as the sanctum sanctorum in divine habitations (temples). The shift in the placement of walls and pillars ensures that the construction is within the ‘buildable’ area and does not disturb the marmas
or the sensitive zones. The corners of the outside of the mandala are said to be negative energy zones with the presiding deities being Paparakshasi (north-east), Charaki (south-east), Vidari
(south-west) and Putana (northwest). It is for this reason that corner doors are normally not recommended for buildings.
Dividing the site area into four concentric zones (Brahmastana, Daiva, Manushya and Paisacha) identifies the ‘buildable’ area. Construction is approved in the Daiva and Manushya zone
s. The Paisacha zone of a Paramasayika mandala covering one-ninth of the site length and breadth on the outer periphery is generally kept free for movement around the building.
Once the site is selected, the entire area is cleaned and levelled. Land can be tilled by cattle or mechanical tillers and bones, hair and other dirt removed. The tilling also ensures removal of holes and depressions created by termites and rodents. An ant hill, if found, indicates not only hollow soil beneath but also the possible availability of water underground. The ant hill can be removed by offering prayers with fruits and flowers before and after its removal. The entire area is then watered and liberally germinated with seeds that sprout. This is to induce soil fertility.
When the soil is heavily sprouted, a cow and its calf are allowed to graze and go around the site for a day or two. The 81-module Vaasthu Purusha Mandala is aesthetically drawn on the site (rangoli) and food and fruit offered to 45 deities. This signifies respect and regard to the Vaasthu Purusha, the lord of the site, while at the same time it is said to enhance the physical and metaphysical quality of the site.
The Vaasthu Purusha Mandala can be adapted to the design needs of residences, temples, factories, offices, departmental stores, and other constructions. We will address the many aspects covering the design needs in our future queries.
Dealing with farm land
Question: I own agricultural land. I wish to develop them into a building complex of apartments and flats. For this purpose my friends are prepared to bring funds and join me in a partnership. Kindly advise me on the legal steps to be
taken. What will be the incidence of stamp duty, registration fee and tax on capital gains?
Ramachandra Murthy
Our panellists, N.C.S. Raghavan (Chartered Accountant) and Arvind Raghavan (Advocate) answer:
It is presumed that you are entitled to own and hold the land under the provisions of the Karnataka Land Reforms Act, 1961. However, you cannot bring agricultural land into a partnership firm for development as provisions of Section 79B(iii) read with Section 80 of the Karnataka Land Reforms Act, 1961, prohibit it. So, before forming a partnership firm, you will have to apply for and obtain the necessary orders of conversion from the appropriate statutory authorities by which the land will be permitted to be used for development of residential apartments, commercial complexes etc.
Only on such conversion can you form a partnership by bringing the converted land as your capital contribution into the firm. Provisions of Section 14 of the Indian Partnership Act, 1932, provide for such land or any property being brought as capital contribution by a partner at the very beginning of the formation of the partnership firm.
It has been a well settled proposition of law that there is no “transfer” or “conveyance” involved in your bringing your converted land into a firm as above and hence no stamp duty is payable or registration required as in the case of a normal transfer of conveyance of an immovable property. The stamp duty of Rs.1,000 payable for the formation of partnership is enough.
On forming the partnership with your land coming into the firm as your capital contribution, it becomes the common property of the firm in which all the partners will have rights and interest in proportion to their respective profit-sharing ratios.
From the tax incidence point of view, it is to be noted that provisions of Section 45(3) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, are applicable in your case. This section permits you to fix your own value to the land brought into the firm by way of credit to your Capital Account. The value can be at cost also. There is no legal necessity or compulsion for you to adopt the market value. When such an unfettered option is available to you, you can avoid excessive taxation based on market values, and adopt a suitable value which minimises the tax incidence.
In these cases, before developing the land, you should obtain the “katha” to the land in the name of the firm so that the “katha” becomes a documentary evidence to denote the land being owned by the firm.
Afterwards, when the firm enters into joint development agreement, if any, with developers, or the firm itself enters into agreements of sale with the prospective buyers of the apartments/flats developed on the land, these agreements can be registered under the Registration Act, 1908, and the agreements will be entered in Book – I maintained in the registration offices.
Such entries will get the benefit of getting public notice and knowledge of the firm’s ownership of the land. If any encumbrances is applied for and obtained in respect of this land, by any person, these entries will be reflected there which will confirm the fact that the firm owns the land with proper title.
(Questions could be emailed to bangproperty@thehindu.co.in)
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