Preface of Interior designing: Chapter-1

Our home is the shelter to our lives. And every little thing that we buy for ourselves, for example, a coffee mug or a shirt also takes us through hours of shortlisting and choosing. But when it comes to our own house, we don't even opt for a planner or designer. Most of us rely on the builder or contractor. In some projects, the architects do the initial plans and in reference to that the whole project is including interiors is executed without any objective or vision.

As people spend 50-60 per cent of their lives at their homes, they interact the most with the spaces, the furniture and the elements present there. Thus, it becomes too much important for any house to have a modelled and aesthetic appearance, positive functions and good vibes.

Interior Designing is the styling and organising of your living spaces into something emotional and appealing. All the elements of interior design are functional and carry a delightful presence with space-saving attitudes and appearances of one's own tastes and flavours in design. It is basically the art of creating innovative designs of a house based on a person's tastes, experiences and likes. The aim of interior designing is quite simple - to design a home that is in line with the residents living in it, that serves the purpose of every member of the house, that is eco friendly and

has every modern technology and aesthetic decors as per personal tastes - all in a specified budget. 

Interior designing, as a field, is in high demand today and there are multiple scopes in this field. Interior designing doesn't only include the modernised designs but also the old modelled designs, designs with French, Greek, Roman, English countryside tastes as well. There are wooden interior designs for nature lovers and there are fully framed metallic and stone elements for technology lovers. Starting from the walls, floors, rugs, curtains, shelves, ceilings, storage, doors, windows, decor - everything inside the house comes under the scope of interior designing.

This concept and course area is seen in the modern era. However, the origin of the ideas is purely ancient found among the people of Greek civilization as well as Indus valley civilization. The interior design is also found in the vedic text named as Antarika Vastu where positions, placements and orientations of each element inside the house are considered based on certain Vaastu principles. 

Elements of interior design are space, form, shapes, patterns, lines, light, colour and texture. Essentials of interior design are space saving ideas, easy to maintain layouts, smart solutions, minimalistic decor, comfort, technical utilization and stipulated budget. Interior design is often confused with interior decoration. Simply put, all interior designers are interior decorators but interior decorators are not interior designers. The main difference lies in the use of technicalities by interior designers which gives a huge value to the output. If we distinguish between the architects, civil engineers and interior designers, the architect comes first to give the external design, the civil engineer looks after the structural construction and the interior designer come at the last who designs the interior space. 

The work and workflow of an interior designer are very systematic and defined step by step backed by individual respective documents. Each step is the perfect successor of the next step making it very precise and pristine. Documents includes the GA drawings, Layout plans, elevation drawings, 3D visualizations of different partitions, etc, etc.

The work of an interior designer generally includes the following steps:

1. Plan a layout- It is the initial step where an interior designer is supposed to do a rough bubble drawing for space management of a built-up area with outside walls. In some good projects, a general space utilization would have already been provided by the architect or planner who plans the house and its structures. A 2D floor plan layout is created for each floor with proper measurements. Dimensions of each room, partition walls, other RCC entities are also provided in this drawing. 

2. Furniture Layout- This is the foundation of many of the successive steps, so major care is taken while finalizing this layout plan. Repetitive revisions may also occur during this process, making this process flexible and interactive. This layout is prepared using standard measurements for every piece of furniture. Best wall for putting bed/ wardrobe/ dressing/ study table/ sofa/ sanitarywares/ dining table/ utility shelves are also finalized in this step. 

3.  False ceiling layout- This layout view is just below the main ceiling wall. Framing drawings along with fasteners and clamps are also selected and placed as per the requirements and loading capacity in this drawing. False ceiling is mostly given for aesthetical purposes, to cover the wires, vent pipes, HVAC connections and plumbing pipes (conceal work). People do ceiling using gypsum boards, fibre sheets, wood & composite ply boards, glass, metal, synthetic leather, cloth, PVC, dust ply boards, etc. Different patterns can be used in single or multiple layers for a better aesthetic perspective. Multilayers mostly include 2 or 3 layers based on the demand, material, budget and other parameters. 

4. Electrical layout- MEP stands for mechanical, electrical and plumbing work which is done by an experienced engineer only. Mechanical drawings include the details related to ducts, AC, heater, etc. Electrical drawings include the positioning of lights, switchboards and fans, ceiling lights, spotlights, RGB connections, the complete wiring layout and details. While doing the electrical layout, the furniture layout is taken as a reference for proper positioning of switchboards and other electrical ammeninties. The positioning of MCB is a very technical and cost accounting task. With proper placement of MCB a huge differential value in economical aspect can be accounted, if planned properly by an interior designer. Therefore it is highly recommended to involve and interior designer while planning the electrical layouts of any building. 

5. Plumbing layout- Plumbing drawings includes the details of piping. water connections, sanitary wares, taps, inlets and outlets, etc. In most cases the builder or the contractor take up the plumbing works. But it is highly preffered to give the plumbing works to the interior designer for proper planning and execution. The interior designer will place and position all the inlet and outlet points based on utilities, comfort, aesthetics and requirements. Moreover, the whole process will involve more technical insights which will help the owner in the long run. Postioning of showers/ wash basins/ sink/ WC, dividing the bathroom into wet and dry zones along with proper sloping measurements to drain, proper concealing of pipe inside thick walls and use of two walls max for plumbing are some of the technical aspects taken into consideration while planning an electrical layout by a skilled interior designer. 

6. Flooring layout- Flooring is one of the most essential part in the interior designing. It is because, the flooring will be in line or in contrasting to all other elements can be decided properly by an interior designer only. Selections of materials/ tiles/ boards/ floor stickers, sizes, no of tiles/ boards, color scheme, textures or patterns, tints, etc. are all to be done in this process. A drawing is to be provided by the interior designer based many pre- made documents such as the furniture layout, electrical layout and plumbing layout. Different types of floorings includes marble flooring, ceramic or vitrified (silica) tile flooring, vinyl flooring, hardwood flooring, granite flooring, bamboo flooring, concrete flooring, laminate flooring, linoleum flooring, terrazzo flooring, brick flooring, redoxide flooring, etc, etc. 

7. Interior decoration- At last comes the interior decoration part where based on a client's requirements, aesthetics, emotions, ambience in totality color combination, furniture selection, fabric selection, curtain selection, glorification and plant selection, sculpture selections, decorative material selection, the luminousity of the light, the glossiness or reflectivity of different material, theme based selections,  etc. etc. are done. The factors taken into consideration are budget, quality, comfort requirement, residents' perspectives, aesthetics, ambience etc. 

Since the interior design topic is very vast, there will be a upcoming series of chapter describing all the points vividly. If you find this article or blog useful, kindly share your views in the comment box below. If it did any value addition to your information bar, then you can learn more of such content by flowing this website page. There is a follow button below, you can click on it and get instantaneous updates once I upload any new blog or article. In the next chapter I will be taking about the physical components of interior designs vividly. Keep in touch... 

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How to buy an apartment based on Vastu compliance?

Recapturing the gist of my previous blog Vastu: The profound sense of dwelling, I can assure you that the knowledge of Vastu is really essential while buying or making a dwelling. Nowadays, people interested in turnkey-based projects don't want the hotchpotch involved in making a perfectly finished house with all other extra included facilities. Facilities like security services, clubhouses, dedicated parking areas, children's parks, recreation grounds, community halls, swimming pools, gym, installation of Water Treatment Plants, Sewerage Treatment Plants, Generators, fire protection system, camera surveillance, etc. can't be mitigated by a single residential owner. Therefore, the consumer push is more toward the big real estate projects like apartments, simplexes, duplexes, and villas. People are also flooding the urban areas and a differential shift to urbanization is also causing this demand. To meet this rising demand many builders and real estate agencies are growing in numbers difficult to reckon. Some of them are deceiving and showing fraudulent projects just to boost their sell and gather money from the ignorant customers.

When it comes to the Vastu of apartments, traditional Vastu rules fail in many regions. Many contemporary Vastu consultants also hesitate to audit the Vastu of a flat or apartment because of its multiplying complexities. During the origins of Vastu Shastra nearly 5000 years ago, there were no apartments or flats, so the gathered principles of traditional Vastu had not encountered today's modern designs and architecture. But with proper assessment of the fundamental principles of Vastu, it can also be applied to flats and apartments.

Hence, in this blog, I will define the Vastu compliances vividly for a common buyer trying to buy an apartment in the coming future. I have also written: How to buy an apartment? and Websites to look upon while buying an apartment in Odisha. Please go through them for an initial understanding of how to buy an apartment and acquire all the legal documents online while buying an apartment in Odisha.

The suitable Vastu of an apartment can be derived from different parameters such as the position and movement of the Sun, the relative motion of the moon, the direction of the wind, atmospheric parameters like temperature, pressure, etc., climatic and seasonal changes, horoscope of the owner or builder, flow of energies and radiation in the apartment, magnetic fields and other invisible forces, location of the source of water, the colour used in the apartment, textures, obstructions, damage in the apartment, etc, etc. 

Direction is considered as the most important factor in Vastu and hence it has been divide into 4 major and 4 sub directions. The 4 major directions as we know are East, West, North, South and the four Sub- directions are Northeast (Eshan), Southeast (Agneya), Southwest (Nirutya/Nairutya), Northwest (Vayaya). The 9th direction is the top perpendicular direction to all these 8 directions called the space (Akash or Mahaakash)  and the 10th direction is considered as the bottom perpendicular direction as hell (patal). 

North is governed by Kuber; the deity of wealth and prosperity. The planet attached to this direction is Mercury (Buddha). As per the magnetic poles, the magnetic field lines flow is from north to south direction and we also know that the field lines originates from positive and descends on the negative side. This implies that the north is a source of positive energy and the apartment or flat having a north entrance will always be positive, abundant, open to possibilities, more into giving rather than taking, etc. etc. The geographical north is also 10 to 12 degrees apart from the magnetic north. So, the 1st quadrant 2/4 or 3/4 position is considered as the best position for the entrance. 

South is the bank of all good energies of North. It is at that end where the magnetic field lines disappear. Hence there shouldn't be big openings on that end. This direction is governed by the planet Mars (Mangal). Hindu deity residing in this direction is Yam; the deity of death. Yam is always considered as the taker of lives. So, there will always be more of a taking element rather than the giving one. Therefore, the south entrance is contemplated as impoverished or enervated and is always closed mostly. However, there's one section of the 4th quadrant(Southeastquadrant) i.e. the 4/4th section which is considered auspicious and can be taken into account when planning for a south entrance. Implying the 10 to 12 degrees tilting rule between geographical and magnetic south. the 4/4th section is that point where the magnetic south rests. This magnetic south is that point where all the mag lines submerge making it the best receiving section. 

The East direction is powerful. The deity residing nearby is Indra; the deity of rain and thunder adjacent to the deity Surya. The direction is governed by the biggest celestial body of the solar system; the Sun (Surya). Sun has the highest impact in each and every term from all other planets. Hence making this direction the strongest of all. Sunrises in the east and therefore, the east direction is always lighted, kept more open, clean, etc. Some of the best Vastu apartments give more openings in this direction mostly. Making heavy walls, staircases, accommodating a toilet in this direction is considered as an offence in the Vast rules. East is considered as the best for entrance. 

The West direction is where the sun sets and hence it symbolizes stability in life. Varun; the deity of Rain, fame, fate resides in this direction as per Vastu Purusha Mandala. Saturn (Shani) is the governing planet of the west. Big openings in this direction will result in the dissipation of the solar energy stored from the east. As an entrance, you can go for the west. However, entrance in the north-west quadrant will be better than the south-west quadrant. In the Vastu Purusha Mandala, the deities residing in the west side padas are Raga, Yama, Sesa, Asura, Varuna, Pusya, Sugriva, Nandi and pitara. So, the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th padas are considered good for the entrance when compared to an east entrance. 

As per Vastu Purusa Mandala, the Northeast direction (Eshan kon) is governed by Isa; another name of Shiva. The representative planet for this direction is Jupiter (Brihaspati). It is the most dominant direction if considered in terms of Vastu. Irrespective of your horoscopes and psychology, it has its own piousness in providing a positive mentality, a creative perspective for every action performed there. The magnetic axis starts from northeast to south-west making it the rejuvenating source of positivity. The best place for a water source can be dug in from here. The best corner for worship and the best place for concentration and creativity is found in this direction only. Being ruled by the water element it is also recommended to water fountains in this corner. It is also important to leave much open space in the Northeast direction as it is a beneficiary source of rain, wind and sunlight combined. 

The Southeast direction (Agneya Kon) is the place of the fire element owned by the fire deity; Agnidev. The representative planet for this direction is Venus (Shukra). Scientifically, this is that quadrant where the sun is in its hottest phase making it suitable for fire-related works. Anti elements like water and wind shall not be taken in from this corner. The use of the Southeast is a delicate matter and planning should be very precise while designing this corner.

The Southwest direction (Nirutya/Nairutya Kon) is owned by Pitarah and the corresponding celestial body for the southwest is Rahu. Rahu is the north lunar node (ascending moon) and along with Ketu is considered as a shadowed moon in eclipse. magnetic energies flowing from the northeast meet in this quadrant. Southwest if planned properly can give health, wealth and prosperity in abundance. Being governed by the earth element, the Southwest ground level must be a little higher than the other corners. Southwest must be enclosed with thick walls with proper ventilation. A proper room for the owner or master of the dwelling. Bad southwest can affect mentally causing trauma, stress, depression and anxiety. 

Northwest corner (Vayaya kon) is governed by the deity Vayudev; the God of winds. The celestial body in this direction is the moon. The wind being the element of abundance there, can make this place a li'l unstable. It shows 315 degrees in the directional compass. This direction is good for gardening and plantation, good for balconies and open-air spaces but not a good place for storage, basement or water source. The kitchen is a strict no in this area. However, considering many salient Vastu rules we can also change the plans for the benefit of the owner.

Below are certain broad points about Vastu compliance you all should check before buying an apartment.

1. Society Vastu: Entrance of society, facing of the society, placement of generators, positions of swimming pools, the position of water source like boring or sump/tank in the Northeast corner and position of the sewerage unit, soak pit, drains in the Northwest, North or West direction etc. Northeast is never an option for stairs, guard's room or servant's room. Ask for the complete layout of your apartment from the builder or owner. Check the orientation of the whole apartment as well as your flat.

 

2. Vaastu of your apartment: Parkside facing flats, roadside facing flat, Maha Dwaar exalted, Balconies directions in East direction or North direction, North / Northwest / East / 4th block of Southeast quadrant facing entrance mostly. The Northeast corner must have the pooja room where deities are to be shrined. Keeping kitchen, toilets, stores and servant room in this corner is not accounted good. Southwest corner must be picked for the master bedroom where the head of the family will reside. West or south is also preferred for drawing or hall. The Northwest corner can be for study/ childrens' rooms/ drawing room/ living area/ hall/ guest room etc. Bathrooms must be present in the south or west direction only. The kitchen is to be present in the southwest direction as it is the fire element corner of the flat. The most preferable positions of windows are in the east or in the north direction. Windows opening inwards is a must check in houses using traditional window design. Based on Pada Vinyasa, Veethi vinyasa and Marma sthaan the planning of the house is done. Along with that Ayadi Shadvarga calculation is done.

3. Ownership hand: The house must be newly painted, check the history of the previous owner, Vastu Pujan or Grihaprabesh puja is to be done before dwelling in any house. Make this a strict point not to use old owner's left belongings, etc. If you are buying an old apartment always check for cracks, seepages and leakage areas, functioning of the switches and sanitary wares. If there's any electrical appliance installed do check its functionality also. Do a well to do repair if you find any issues in the above-mentioned points. 

5. Grihnada Vastu ( House owner's compatibility)- Compatibility between the Nakshatra of the house owner and house, test for determining body constitution (Vata-Pitta-Kapha) of the house owner and the results based on the same - such as which bedroom is auspicious for him, etc. Suggestions based on the Job of the house owner and Ekayoni checks based on the same. etc. The matchmaking of the land horoscope and the owner's horoscope is also done for better results.

6. Antarika Vastu (Interior design )- - Results based on the placement of Cot, Chair, washbasin, fridge, AC, etc. Within each room inside the house are taken into consideration in this section. Positions and orientations based on each element inside the house are considered using Vastu principles only. The use of paint, colour selection, wallpaper shapes, etc are also depicted based on the Vastu principles.

7. Muhurtha- In Vāstu, an auspicious moment with the best Muhurta is selected for each stage of work to be started. Such a Muhurta itself gives long life to the construction. Starting work without auspicious Muhurta is just like giving treatment to a dead. One can conclude that however well the building might be constructed as per the principles of Vastu if the important Muhurta combinations are not achieved to the owner is likely to suffer the effects of bad Muhurta as enunciated and outlined. A proper Muhurta should be made use of; otherwise, the very purpose of big projects is likely to be lost. Proper muhurta must be observed so that the Vāstu constructed on such land would last long. The muhurta must be selected on astrological rather than religious considerations. While selecting a muhurta, the astrological principles rather than religious ones should be observed very carefully.

After saying all these points, I would also like to conclude by saying that no direction is good or bad, it's the house planning based on the utility which either makes it good or bad. So, as per my recommendation whenever you choose to buy an apartment/ flat/ simplex or duplex for your dwelling always consult a Valid Vastu Consultant. If that's not happening then at least shortlist some salient points from this blog and do a crosscheck with the house you are going to buy. It is not a matter of days or months, it will be a lifelong asset that will have direct interaction and influence in your life. So choose wisely! IF you have any doubts regarding any issue, you can consult with me by sending me a comment on this blog or just pinging me will do. 

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How to assess and plan your future or career? (RETCAP)

I have been doing some research regarding how to plan your future or career. Generally, we plan our career or future based on time, situations, economic factors etc. Most of us plan our careers based on time only. I have developed a certain process to plan careers properly and I call it the Rating-based Enhancement Technique for Career Assessment and Planning (RETCAP). 

So, this blog will be mainly based on career planning, career assessment, career objectives and the description of how to use RETCAP to design your careers easily without any hotch poach and dilemmas. This rating enhancement of career planning and assessment involves certain steps to be followed. The steps are: -

1.      Choose your goals and a deadline:

Take a piece of paper and a pen and write five career goals you want to see in your life by 2030.

Note: Here I have taken 2030 as my deadline. You can take whatever you want at your convenience but it must not be more than 10 years from the current year. I prefer taking 5 career goals in general. You can add up more if you want to.

For example, I am choosing

1.      An established author

2.      A bank balance of 50 lakhs or more

3.      A renowned designer

4.      Physical fitness

5.      Owning a garden or a farmhouse

6.      Writer of 3 books at least

7.      A renowned poet

8.      ABC

9.      XYZ

 

2.      Shortlisting and ranking the goals:

You need to shortlist your list of goals to the best five or less. You need to find and fuse two similar goals to make it more precise and shorter. The best five goals must be ranked in the descending order of priority in your life. This priority value may change in the coming future and subsequently, you can replace the old ranking with the new one if needed.

For example: In my example, 3 similar points are pointing out a common objective. i.e., 1. A renowned author, 6. writer of 3 books at least and 7. a renowned poet. I can club them into a single point per se, “An established author” and this step will omit many such similar points. Your Goals will be more precise and sharper. I can change the rank of “a renowned designer" to 2^nd and reduce the “bank balance of 20 lakhs" to 3^rd as per my priority.

So, my new list after shortlisting and ranking them will be:

1.      An Established author

2.      A renowned designer

3.      A bank balance of 50 lakhs

4.      Physical fitness

5.      A garden owner

3.      Giving rating to your goals:

Rate your goals based on the current progress. You can rate each of your goals from 10. Let’s say 4/10 or 5/10

For example, in my case:

1.      An Established Author - 3/10

2.      A renowned designer - 4/10

3.     A bank balance of 20 lakhs- 2/10

4.      Physical fitness -5/10

5.      A garden owner - 1/10

4.      Steps to improve the ratings:

Assign specific tasks and steps to improve the ratings of each of the goals you selected. The steps of improvement may be short or illustrative based on your preferences but they should rank in ascending order of their future occurrence. Beside each step, mention the improvised rating so that you can track hold of your tasks or steps. 

5.      Deadlines to each rating:

Render a deadline and a thorough road map to each rating which will further simplify your goals and how to achieve them. 

For example, in my case:

1.      An Established Author - 3/10- 2021

a.    Publishing my 1^st novel- 4/10 - 2022

b.    Publishing my 2^nd novel- 5/10 -2024

c.    Publishing my poetry book- 6/10 - 2024

d.    Xyz- 7/10 - 2026

e.    Abc-8/10 – 2028 

2.      A renowned designer - 4/10

a.      xyz - 2022

b.      xyz- 5/10 -2024

c.      xyz- 6/10 - 2024

d.      Xyz- 7/10 - 2026

e.      xyz – 9/10 - 2028

3.      The bank balance of 50 lakhs- 2/10

a.      xyz - 2022

b.      xyz- 5/10 -2024

c.      xyz- 6/10 - 2024

d.      Xyz- 7/10 - 2026

e.      xyz – 9/10 - 2028

4.      Physical fitness -5/10

a.      xyz - 2022

b.      xyz- 5/10 -2024

c.      xyz- 6/10 - 2024

d.      Xyz- 7/10 - 2026

e.      XYZ – 9/10 - 2028

5.      A garden owner - 1/10

 

6.      Remember looking at the list from time to time.

Write it somewhere, where you can check it out from time to time. Most of us might have made such a to-do list in a diary or a notebook but after few days we don't even look at it. To avoid such conditions write it on a whiteboard if available or just write it on plain paper and paste it behind your door or on your wall.

7.      Share it with your mentor:

Discuss this method with your mentor or parent and share the updates regularly with him or her.

 

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17 Lessons I learnt from the book Rich Dad Poor Dad

Rich dad and poor dad is an international bestseller written by Robert T Kiyosaki and edited by Sharon Lechter. It is based on his own life story where he mentions the learning from his two fathers. One is his own father who is a hard-working Ph.D. holder, a salaried but worried professor; The poor Dad. And the other one is his knowledge-giving source, his teacher cum financial advisor, and a businessman; The rich Dad. After reading this book I have extracted certain learned points which I am going to share below. It is totally based on my grasping ability and my way of representing the book. Hope you all put it to good use.

 

Financial Education or financial literacy:

1. Financial education is a major lack in the current education system. Although we dedicate our whole childhood to our conventional education methods, the main grind of adulthood to earn, manage, and grow money is not taught properly in a single book or subject. 

2. Teaching about earning money and teaching about growing money are two different things. Financial education shouldn't be such that it teaches us to run for money throughout our lives. It should be such which teach you how to manage money and let money work for you. When your money with proper management and decisions increases by itself without your personal time investment, it can be said that money is working for you. This whole concept is termed financial independence.

3. Conventional lectures and blackboard classes are not the modes to teach life lessons. Life being the biggest teacher is the best course which pushes you in every moment to learn something. It may be some random skill or lesson but life chores teach it most simplistically. Therefore, practical educations with life examples along with theoretical understanding are the most genuine and the most effective form of education.

4. Conventional education is designed to teach a student to avoid mistakes. But mistakes are part of real life. People that are scared to make mistakes never grow, but schools teach you to be scared of mistakes. In life there's right and wrong, good and bad, winning and losing, success and failure. Most people want to be right, but that's not reality. 

5. With proper financial education, financial independence as well as financial freedom can be achieved. Financial education should include basic accounting practices, proper investment practices, basic rules of the financial market, information related to tax, tariff, or levy. Financial independence is achieved once you take care of all these practices. But financial freedom is achieved when you get up to a stage where you are free to take the decision avoiding the number game.

Decision-making power:

6. Decision-making power is what makes people different from others. Each intersection in life street allows you to make a decision. This decision decides your future destination, will it be luxurious or abstemious is decided in that instant. So, if you don't cultivate instant decision-making power, you can't keep up in the race of making money. Your decisions will thrash you to a compromising position where you find yourself behind from what you projected and from others too.

7. There are three broad divisions based on our decision-making power (poor, middle-class, and rich). Poor and middle-class people work for money, and money works for the rich. Poor and middle-class lives are governed by fear and greed. Fear is often misused as security pushes the decisions of the poor and middle class to take the safest and secure path. Whereas calculated risks and aggressive approaches are mostly taken by rich people. 

Avoiding the rat race:

8. In your childhood, your parents push you to think of getting a job and earn for your lively hood for the rest of your lives. This indirectly fuels your decisions to sell yourself to the concept of salary, job security, financial security, etc. Even the education system teaches you to follow the contemporary approach to have some and adjust with that. How a rat runs continuously in a rotating wheel powered by it tied with a slice of cheese in front of it, your life resembles the same pattern. 

9. A job is a short-term solution to a long-term problem. The real intent to go to a job is to earn. When a salaried person says that he doesn't have any interest in making money, he is blatantly lying and is trying to cover up his real instinct. The salaried person confuses himself in between earning and making. This confusion leads to a path full of traps, the traps in the web of greed and fear. The greed of earning more and the fear of losing more makes him more vulnerable, fickle and stressed. 

10. Every person has something which can be quantified by money and few other things which can't be quantified. If most of your things are fueled by money, you develop fear and greed. This is inherited from generation to generation until a radical and unconventional heir breaks the chain.  

11. In fact, the origin of inflation, adulteration, and depression are caused due to this ever-rising trait of greed and fear in the masses. This gradually widens the gap between the rich and the poor. The downfall of many big historical civilizations was due to this rising gap only. 

Distinguishing between Assets and Liabilities:

12. Asset is something that brings money to your pocket. Liability is something that takes money from your pocket. Therefore, the rich collect assets, and the poor collect liabilities. Liabilities are some form of responsibility too where you don't only spend your money but also spend your time. A rich will never invest his big chunk in buying big liabilities. In fact, having big liabilities like luxurious cars and lavish houses is never a sign of being rich. It's in the mindset that distinguishes the rich and the poor. It's the smart sensing capability to differentiate between liabilities and assets. It's the decision-making capability to acquire more assets. 

13. Houses, cars, and jewelry are not termed as assets until they put money into your pocket. If a house gives you a profitable rental income, it can be termed as an asset. Asset and liability can be identified based on the cash flow. If the cash flow is inwards, it's an asset. If the cash flow is outwards, it's a liability. With proper learning and implementation, liabilities can also be converted into assets.

14. There are broadly four asset classes that are business, real estate, papers (stocks, mutual funds, and savings), commodities.  Businesses or companies are the best modes of assets if properly run and managed. Robert's cash flow quadrant says there are employees, self-employed, businessmen, Investors in each corner of the world's cash flow.

15. Business and investments on paper control most of the cash flow than the other two. Real estate can be an asset if you can learn to use debt. Proper management of real estate can become some of the biggest assets a person could ever have. Papers are stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and savings. A distributed investment plan can make the papers some of the exponentially increasing assets in your account. Commodities like oil, gas, gold, etc. will not go down soon and can be some of the well-reserved assets for future growth. 

Speculating inside out: 

16. Asking questions to yourself, to your surrounding, to your silence, about your problems makes you improve from what you were. A question opens the mind, a statement closes the mind. Poor people often end the possibilities of solving a problem but rich people are keen to retrospect, introspect and interrogate to solve a problem. At least the rich people are accounting a probability of solving it.

17. Not speculating your current scenario is directly escaping from success. Learn about accounting, learn about your financial statement, the numbers of your income and expenditure. Make your balance statement and income statement. Dig into your assets, your liabilities and find out the best possible outcomes for the current and future scenarios.

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Vastu: The profound sense of dwelling

Recapturing the long lost trend, nowadays the common sense of civilized and progressive people are recognizing the importance of houses more than that of the importance of food and clothes. It is very evident to say that a house and its making impact a person's life more in terms of time and transactions. It is being reaffirmed that among the amenities of life, a residential building not only affords a large degree of comfort and convenience but also significantly influences health, relationship, longevity, safety, and security. 

Earlier in ancient times, constructing a house or any building in (Bharat) India was deeply associated with a holistic and spiritual approach. Being the hub of cultural integrity, India was developing its architectural front based on rudimentary searches and research. Vedas, Puranas, and Upanishads were encrypting many such architectural findings and principles under the rishis(sages), gurus (Teachers), sishyas (scholars), sthapatis(architects, builders, and designers) as well as silpis (carvers and workers). Apart from that, many Sahityas(literature), agamas(religious texts), itihasas(historical texts), kavyas(poems), Sangitas(songs), Natya shastras(dramas and ethology), etc. have traces of architectural material in them. These ancient Hindu architectural texts are collectively stated as Vaastu Shastra or simply Vastu. Vaastu or Vastu has come from the word 'Vas' which means living in a certain place. The literal meaning of Vastu is the place where we live or dwell. Vastu shastra has its origin from sthapatya Veda which is a crucial part of Atharvaveda. Some of the most important ancient works related to Vastu are Viswakarma Vastu Shastra, Samaragana sutradhara, Mandana Sutradhara, mayamata, silparatna etc. Agamas like suprabhedagama, karnikagama, Vaikhanasagama Maha-agamas etc. and Puranas like Agnipurana, Matsyapurana, garuda purana etc. are noticeable works of Hindu architecture.

In India, Vastu is given the utmost importance while creating a dwelling because most of the architectural magnum opuses of earlier days were created strictly following the Vastu norms and principles. Vishwakarma is considered the supreme architect and his descendants are also identified with the creation of much monumental architecture following the principles of Vastu only. Vishwakarma is credited with the craftmanship of many weapons and chariots of Gods in Hindu mythology. In Ramayana and Mahabharata, he is also identified as the planner and creator of cities like Lanka, Dwarka, and Indraprastha. Mayan or Mayasura being the son of Vishwakarma and father of Mandodari is also considered as the planner of Mayasabha(coliseum) and cities of Lanka and Dwarka too. Nala, another son of Vishwakarma was the sole architect behind the construction of Nala Setu or Ram Setu. There are also architectural texts based on Vastu for Jainism and Buddhism such as Gautamiyam, Bauddhamatam, Caitya, etc.

Manasara is a Shilpa Shastra(the science of art and crafts), written by multiple authors successively evolved over the centuries. Inside its 70 chapters and 10,000 shlokas, it has vividly described topics like the system of measurements, qualification of an architect, objects of architecture, selection of construction site, soil testing, ground plans, village planning, town planning, foundation design, column design, design of palaces, chariots, Hindu temple architecture, the structure of deities as well as Jaina and Buddhist temple design and construction, etc. 

Mayamata is a valuable work of Vastu architecture written by Maya or Asuramaya or Mayan in Sanskrit. Mayamata means the opinions of Maya in architecture. It contains 36 chapters and 3300 slokas. 300 slokas are related to planning, other 3000 are related to measurements, soil testing, site selection, building material, length and width ratio, etc. Chapters like samria sangraha, Bastu Prakara, Bhumi Pariksha, Bhumi adhigrahan, Padavinyasa, Bali Karma, grama niyojana, nagara niyojana, Garbha binyasa, Upapitha, adhisthana, stambha, lupas, sandhi karma, sikhara, eka/dwi/tri manjila nirmana, Gopuram, Mandapas, Griha, Griha prabesha, dwara, Bhumi, bhawana, Bahana, Linga Bidhana, Petha Bidhana, Zirno Uddhara, etc. are included in Mayamata. 

Brihat Samhita, the most specialized work of Varaha Mihira also describes any architectural principles. Brihat Samhita has 100 chapters and 3900 slokas. It talks about astrology, mathematics, architectural science, sun and its significance, planetary motion and their significance, planetary years, meetings, moon's conjunction with celestial bodies, constellation's impacts, wind and its importance, climate and seasonal changes, time and calendar, etc. Varaha Mihira was inspired by many poets (mostly by Kalidasa) and authors from whom he extracted many evident implementations. Thus the word 'Samhita' literally means amalgamation. Brihat Samhita also describes the design of Nagara-style temples built in the 6th century.

Vastu shastra has also proliferated its impression on modern architectures. The scientific and rational minds have accepted it with an open approach in the form of guidelines, scrutinized its important aspects, and extracted the benefits in their implementation. Some of the modern architectural marvels based on Vastu are as follows:

1. City planning of the city of Jaipur, Rajasthan by Rajput king Jai Singh in 1727.

2.Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya, Ahemedabad, Gujrat 

3. Lotus temple, New Delhi by Fariborz Sahba in 1986

4.Jawahar Kala Kendra, Jaipur, Rajasthan by Charles Correa in 1986

6. City planning of Chandigarh, by Le Corbusier

7. Ram Mandir, Ayodhya, under construction, by Sompura Family started in August 2020 

Suitable Vastu is derived from different parameters such as defining the location of the plot of construction based on direction and altitude, the position and movement of the Sun, the relative planetary motion, the relative motion of the moon, the direction of the wind, soil qualities of the plot, atmospheric parameters like temperature, pressure, etc., climatic and seasonal changes, specific time selection about the calenders, horoscope, and behavior of the owner/ maker/ creator or builder, flow of energies and radiation in the plot and building, magnetic fields and other invisible forces, material selection parameters, location of the source of water, etc, etc. 

Vastu is based on the 5 elements principle. The 5 fundamental elements of creation are Prithvi (Earth), Jal (Water), Aakash (Space), Vaayu (Air), Agni (Fire).  As we know, a living being is made up of five elements similarly the Vastu is considered to be a living being and is created out of five elements too. The effect of each element changes from direction to direction. The most effective element in the northeast direction is considered to be water, whereas the southeast direction gives more importance to the fire element. The northwest and southwest directions consider air and earth as their most effective element respectively.  The astrological studies of horoscopes have also denoted different elements to different horoscopes. So, linking both the astrological insights with the Vastu Shastra, proper orientation to the site plan can be proposed. 

The science of directions is used to derive a suitable site plan followed by a suitable floor plan of the building. The concept of Vastu Purusa is used here to ease the complexities of the plan. As Astrology goes with the personification of time (The Kala Purusha), similarly Vastu Shastra deals with the personification of space (The Vastu Purusa). In fact, ancient sages knew the relation between space and time. And based on their intuitive wisdom, they established a space-time personified concept to access this wisdom. In the Vastu Purusha concept, the site is divided into specific no. cells called Padas. The site plan (Pada Vinyasa) is done by planning each cell and allocating suitable functions to each dwelling cell. Every pada or cell is denoted with a certain deity bearing a certain form of energy. 

Division of plot using horizontal and vertical lines into a specific number of squares. They range from 1x1 to 32 x 32. Vastu Purusha mandalas uses pada vinyasa for divisions. Different mandalas have specific no of padas based on types of pada vinyasas. The most prominent Vastu Purusa Mandalas are Chhandita Mandala(8x8) with 64 padas and Parasaayika Mandala (9x9) with 81 padas. The Manduka/ Chhandita Vastu Purusha Mandala (8x8) is mostly used for layouts of Hindu temples. The Parasaayika Mandala (9x9) is mostly used for deep value intended Residential/ commercial planning. While dividing the energies of the padas, a particular deity was represented corresponding to their energy characteristics. In the Parasaayika mandala, the normal position of the Vastu Purusha (head towards northeast and legs in the southwest) is depicted, and along with this orientation of Vastu Purusha, a total of 45 energy deities sit upon him.

While constructing a building, Vastu gives step-by-step guidelines starting from the selection of the plot or site to the finishing of exteriors and interior planning. A brief description of the steps has been given for your convenience.

1. Plot / Land selection (Bhu-Vastu):- Vastu plays a very important role in the plot selection for residential as well commercial use. The shape of the plot, the orientations, and directions of the plot, type of soil, tilt/ slant of the land, proximity of the land (landmarks such as temples near the land, roads near the land, water source near the land, etc.) help in determining the quality and fitness of the land for further construction. The soil is divided into 3 types based on its quality, viz., High (Uttama), medium (Madhyam), and low (Adhama). Further, the soil can be examined base on its taste (rasa), color (varna), touch (sparsa), smell (gandha), etc. Purification of the soil, possession of the plot, dividing the soil into grids, etc. are also included in Bhu-Vastu A land horoscope can be taken out for better understanding and implementation. 

2. Division of segments or sections (Khanda Vastu)- It is more of a calculation based on different forms of division of the plot. Veethis (concentric circles) and padas (grid Square) are used to divide the plot based on the plot size. Veethi vinyasa and Pada Vinyasa are done to allocate different spaces of use based on the relevance of the segments. Marma Bindu (Vital points) are also defined while dividing the plots

3. Griha Vastu (House Design)-  Based on Pada Vinyasa, Veethi vinyasa and Marma sthaan the planning of the house is done. Along with that Ayadi Shadvarga calculation is done. Six types of Ayadis are calculated ( Aaya – Income/benefits, Vyaya – Expenditure, Yoni – Direction indicating the flow of energy (Prana), Varam – Weekdays, Nakshatra – Star,  Amsa – Quality/feature). Tithi, Yoga, and Ayuva are also calculated there. A proper foundation method, plinth, column, beam, roof, door, window, etc. are selected based on the type and no of stories. Starting from the footing to the roof, everything is calculated as per the Vastu principles. Direction based results for every kind of rooms, results based on obstructs (vedhs and dosas), results considering the position of well, septic tank, soak pit, water source, results for the main gate, compound wall, staircase, etc. are also calculated based on the Vastu principles.

5. Grihnada Vastu ( House owner's compatibility)- Compatibility between the Nakshatra of the house owner and house, test for determining body constitution (Vata-Pitta-Kapha) of the house owner and the results based on the same - such as which bedroom is auspicious for him, etc. Suggestions based on the Job of the house owner and Ekayoni checks based on the same. etc. The matchmaking of the land horoscope and the owner's horoscope is also done for better results.

6. Antarika Vastu (Interior design )- - Results based on the placement of Cot, Chair, washbasin, fridge, AC, etc. Within each room inside the house are taken into consideration in this section. Positions and orientations based on each element inside the house are considered using Vastu principles only. The use of paint, color selection, wallpaper shapes, etc are also depicted based on the Vastu principles.

7. Muhurtha- In Vāstu, an auspicious moment with the best Muhurta is selected for each stage of work to be started. Such a Muhurta itself gives long life to the construction. Starting work without auspicious Muhurta is just like giving treatment to a dead. One can conclude that however well the building might be constructed as per the principles of Vastu if the important Muhurta combinations are not achieved to the owner is likely to suffer the effects of bad Muhurta as enunciated and outlined. A proper Muhurta should be made use of; otherwise, the very purpose of big projects is likely to be lost. Proper muhurta must be observed so that the Vāstu constructed on such land would last long. The muhurta must be selected on astrological rather than religious considerations. While selecting a muhurta, the astrological principles rather than religious ones should be observed very carefully.

Vastu Shastra is itself a vast topic to grasp. Years of proper training and learning are required to get the essence of Vastu Shastra. To fulfill the regularity of the format a conclusion is needed to be drawn. And after reading this blog you might have got the gist of the topic. Vastu shastra is indeed a profound sense of dwelling and must be taken into account while building or buying a house, planning a village or city, planning of landscapes, planning of commercial as well as residential buildings, and many more. 

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Future is booking tickets to Space.

When I say booking tickets to space, the first name to strike your mind might be Elon Musk. Sorry to disappoint you, I am not even going to include his name in further sentences. Yes, you read it right. Apart from the advancement of SpaceX rockets and his lunar as well as Mars tourism endorsements, there's a lot of things to talk about in the Space Tourism commercialization front.

Starting from Yuri Gagarin's Vostok-1 launch to Christina Koch's longest stay in space, space travel has come a long way facing many crests and troughs. And now the bubbles of space tourism surfacing the public platforms are creating new peaks among the space enthusiasts. Space tourism is not new to this era. It has already been inaugurated and explored by the Russian Space Agency in the early 2000s. Dennis Titto, the first space tourist and an American entrepreneur bought the first-ever space travel ticket costing him a huge $20 million. In his 60th year, his childhood dream got fulfilled when he boarded a Russian Soyuz rocket to the International Space station in 2001 coordinated by Space Adventure Ltd. However, the RSA closed the space tourism program in 2010 even after executing many tourist missions due to an increase in the ISS crew size. From then onwards, many agencies and companies have been trying to successfully premier their space tourism endeavors.

Space travel is generally classified into three types. The first one is suborbital space travel, the second is orbital space travel and the last one is space travel beyond earth's orbit. Space tourism has pinned a lot of badges when it comes to suborbital space travel. But things are not that advanced in the other two segments. Many companies such as SpaceX, Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin, Boeing, etc. are tightening their nuts and bolts to catapult tourists to the suborbital space. They have a promising portrayal of their plans for the near future. 

Space tourism can be executed successfully, based on discrete phases.

Phase-1 would be proper space transportation. In these recent years, there's a heap of research and development in building a spacecraft or space vehicle. Spacecrafts come in different shapes and sizes. Apart from single-stage space vehicles, the two-stage space vehicles require a launch vehicle to get them to space. Launch vehicles can be rockets or planes based on the level of altitude, design, mission objectives. Rockets use solid and liquid propellants undergoing internal combustion in a rocket engine whereas airplanes use conventional wings along with the air-fuel mixture as propellants. Launch vehicles are generally attached to two kinds of crewed spacecraft, i.e. space capsules and space planes, for carrying human crew to space. 

Space capsules being very economical and simplistic in designs are being used widely in different manned space missions. Early space missions like the Vostok program and Apollo program mostly used capsules for human space transports(cosmonauts from Russia or astronauts from America). Capsules are carried by multistaged rockets and are mostly orbital and beyond orbital in kind. The launch sequence includes different stages of separation of the rocket launchers. This is where a huge chunk of money gets wasted when the rockets fall back to the earth and become of no use. 

SpaceX has done significant research in this field to reuse these separated rocket launchers (Falcon-9) by landing them properly back to the earth's crust. Falcon-9 is designed to take the 7 membered crew dragon reusable capsule to the orbit where it can latch onto a docking port in the ISS using a sophisticated automatic docking system. And at the same time, the falcon 9s can return back safely to earth. After completion of the mission, the crew Dragon capsule can detach from the station and reenter back to earth. Inturn a suite of parachutes can lower them gently to a known location in the ocean to be retrieved later by a SpaceX boat.

Similarly, Boeing is developing its own 7 membered crew capsule called the Boeing CST-100 Starliner which can be launched using multiple launch vehicles like the Atlas-V made by Lockheed Martin, Delta-4, Falcon-9, Vulcan Centaur, etc. The 100 in CST-100 is used in consideration of the Karman line (the virtual periphery of the earth's atmosphere). It promises to take at least 1 space tourist along with 5 astronauts under NASA's Commercial Crew Program.

 

Unlike SpaceX and Boeing, Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin is developing a suborbital spacecraft with a fully reusable and Vertical Takeoff &Vertical Landing New Shepherd Propulsion Module carrying the New Shepard crew capsule. The crew capsule can take up to six members and can return from space using a parachute landing system while the propulsion module can get back safely once it ascends the crew module to suborbital space. Right now it is undergoing its testing phase.

Virgin Galactic is an American spaceflight company owned by the Virgin group, instead of capsules it uses spaceplanes named VSS Unity and the mid-air launching vehicle White knight to propel to suborbital space. The white Knight launcher as well as the VSS unity spaceplane are capable of doing traditional airplane landing in modified runways or sophisticated spaceports without any issue associated with capsule landing. These spaceplanes will be used in the earth-to-earth spaceflight as spaceliners boarding 6 passengers and 2 pilots. The system is in the developmental phase and can be used as the fastest transport in between developed cities.

SpaceX is also in the race for its own spaceliner using earth to earth Starship variant. Unlike supersonic jets, the single-stage hypersonic starship variant can travel up to 10,000 km at a speed of 25,000 Km/hr in between major cities of the Earth. The other multistage variants of starship are being developed to be used for moon and Mars missions. Floating super-heavy class spaceports will be used for all the starship variants making it a hub of suborbital, orbital, and beyond orbit space travel. 

Orion Span is a USA-based company working in the development of a space hotel. Space hotels are basically space stations in earth's orbit revolving around the earth. Space stations are huge spacecraft with a huge capability of orbiting the planet as well as housing many crew members in space for several years down the line. Orion span has proposed such a space station called Aurora space station which will offer a one-time gathering of 6 members (2 professional members and 4 tourists) in the low earth orbit. A long 12 days stay for $9.5 Million per tourist including nonspace food and drinks, recreational activities will definitely give a hair tinkering experience to the boarded tourists.  

Joint ventures in between (SpaceX and Axiom space), (Space adventure and SpaceX) are also boosting orbital space tourism programs. (Space Adventure and DSE Alpha) are also collectively working to execute a circumlunar mission to the moon with a price per passenger being $100,.000,000.

Phase-2 would be medical testing and basic training of a space tourist visiting space. It will be a tedious task to train the basic functioning and usage of spacecraft to a common space tourist. Spacecraft designers are required to rethink the interior design directly in interaction with the passengers.

Phase-3 would be the safety of the passengers inside the spacecraft. 

If these 3 phases can be carried out properly then the future of space tourism will be on the brighter side. With the commercialization and globalization of such services, one-day booking tickets to space might become cheaper than conventional flight tickets. 

Briefly saying, the future of space tourism is looking brighter than ever before. After privatizing the space exploration process, many big companies are putting a big chunk of their resources into the research and development of new modes of space transportation. In the 2020s we will be seeing the commercialization of suborbital space travel. It may so that we can buy a ticket to space just for recreation or it may be a hypersonic journey in a spaceliner to jump from one city to another. And there is a huge chance that orbital space exploration may boom. Perhaps there might be some space hotels (space stations basically) where we can book a 2 nights, 3days holiday (Although there won't be nights or days as it is in the earth's crust). The late 2020s might also gift us the endeavor to go beyond the earth's orbit. Lunar tourism is one of the big things endorsed by Musk in these recent years. Eventually, we can be interplanetary species after completing a mission to mars and the followingly ascending towards the mars tourism programs. In the coming 50 years or so, we can definitely see some huge leaps to different space boundaries. Habitation and colonization at different planets and natural satellites may become real too.

References:

1. Articles from NASA, SpaceX, Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic, Boeing, etc.

2. Wikipedia

3. Science Direct

4. Revfine

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