One of the premier educational institutions in the country, Indian Institute of Technology(IIT) Kharagpur is going to introduce Vastu Shastra in its curriculum for both undergraduate and post-graduate students.
According to a report by The Times of India, first and second year undergraduate architecture students will be taught the basics of the ancient subject while the postgraduate students will go through a detailed study of the subject.
After a detailed review, the faculty members felt that students should be as acquainted with the ancient Indian concepts as they are with the Western ones.
Quoting the staff, the TOI report says that they also believe that Vastu studies are not rooted in religion, instead, ancient Indian concepts have a scientific basis and introducing students to these will open up new prospects.
Advertisement
On Sunday, the Ranbir and Chitra Gupta School of Infrastructure Design and Management (RCGSIDM) of IIT-Kgp held its first workshop on the subject, 'Vastu in Global Perspective', in the city. The event was attended by Vastu experts from different corners of the country.
Joy Sen, head of RCGSIDM and a faculty member of the architecture department said,"Times are changing and across the globe there is a renewed interest in ancient Indian knowledge. So, it is natural that we will tweak our syllabus to include Vastu in architecture and infrastructure classes."
Sen said that Vaastu shastra should be followed to curb ongoing unplanned urbanisation.
Advertisement
"Incorporating Vaastu principles in designs of buildings could make buildings more eco-friendly since principles of layout, measurements, ground preparation, space arrangement and spatial geometry are well defined in Vaastu Shastra," Sen told PTI on the sidelines of a discussion on Vaastu in Global Perspective'.
Terrestrial science, solar science and ecological science are merged into one in Vaastu science, he said.
"Remember how old buildings had 'Purber verandah' (verandahs with east open),'Garomer ghar' (summer rooms) and 'Siter ghar'(winter rooms). All that is gone in most modern buildings," the academician said.
"The architecture of the Tagore household at Jorasanko embodies the concept of shared living and meditation," he said, adding that the concept of such old buildings were in sync with nature and ecology.
"Go through the lanes and by-lanes in Lucknow, Varanasi and in parts of north Kolkata, and see the buildings. You will understand what I am talking about," he said.
