I am happy to announce that with this issue our magazine enters its fourth year of publication. The journey so far has been exciting indeed. Beginning with this issue Vaastuyogam will now have 16 pages in place of the currenttwelve.

With QvelWhelming response from our readers from abroad especially NRI’s in Africa, Dubai, Australia, Canada, USA and UK who have
requested that the Vedic India articles on religious matters and the connected festivals will be regular features.

On Their Home and Vaastu

We met Dr. Rao about nine years ago through a common friend. At that time, Vaastu was not so popular in Ahmedabad; in fact, we had only heard about it a little, nothing more. Meeting Dr. Rao was an eye opener. We understood in one meeting itself the important role land and construction can play in our lives. In fact, both my brotherAbhay and I took a vow never to hammer a nail in a wall without Vaastu permisSion.

What is “Image”?

Your image is many things, but most importantly, it is what you want to project yourself as to the world at large. You have an
idea of what you are and what you want and where you want to go. You want this to be conveyed. Unfortunately, how you dress and
how you carry yourself comes in the way. The co-ordination between your personality and your style is your image.

Mrs. Neeloo Balani settled in Ahmedabad after marrying Mr. Laxman Balani who holds a senior position in a private insurance company. In Ahmedabad, she joined the renowned Dr. BV. Doshi’s architectural firm where she worked for two years. SUbsequently, she left professional practice when her first daughter Prachi was born. Currently, she has a business of selling highend custom made stainless steel kitchens manufactured by one of India’s largest steel companies.

Excerpts from the interview:-

Whatever else Vaastu may have done or not there is no denying that Vaastu did work for my parents. I saw a sea change in my dad
over the years – from a stern guy always battling odds he is now totally at ease with the world and ready to bat on any wicket.

Opening remarks

My parents along with my uncles , their children and also many of their business associates are complete believers in Vaastu.
The atmosphere is steeped with Vaastu anecdotes and discussion. Yet, personally speaking, I haven’t made up my mind.

It is heartening to see the increasing level of inclusion of Indian Astrology in modern mainstream Indian perception and
Lifestyles. What perhaps needs to be done is to organize the study of astrology and work towards bringing it into mainstream education. Perhaps, it is also high time that we de-mystify astrology per se which was the core of Dr. Raman’s lifetime mission in
astrology.

There are 911 sites on the World Heritage List as ofJuly 2010, ‘inscribed’ as properlies by the World Heritage Committee of United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). The list includes 704 cultural, 180 natural, and 27 mixed sites
in 151 States Parties . These are ‘considered to be of outstanding value to humanity’ and belong to all mankind. The preservation of this shared heritage concerns all of us. India is an active member-state on the World Heritage Forum since 1977, and is one of the countries on the list, with 28 World Heritage Sites. Of these, 23 are recorded as cultural sites, while the rest are natural sites.

Vaastuyogam has always placed the highest premium on the views of the readers and I take this New Year message to put 0 n record our deep sense of gratitude for all the comments and tips that the readers have given to me and my team. I assure you all that our goal of furthering the word of our Vedas and of engaging with society in debate on subjects of the Vedic sciences remains nfaltering – in fact we are redoubling our efforts from this issue onwards by bring in additional content on Astrology, the great Hindu epics of
Ramayana and Mahabharata and also the heritage sites of India.

Flipkart is now India’s biggest online bookseller, with over 10 million titles distributed from warehouses in five cities. It
has branched from books into mobile phones,appliances, gaming consoles, music and movies, and now sells 10 products a minute. It
generated $11 million in sales last financial year, expects revenues to cross $100 million this year and is aiming at $1 billion by 2015.

However, in late 2007, soon after the company’s launch, it still seemed a risk. Says Binny Bansal, ~We were lucky since neither of
us was married and didn’t have much family responsibility. Sachin and I put in RS.2.5 lakh each and started with seed money of Rs.5
lakh:

Mrs. Bhavita Shah was born and brought up in Mumbai. After completing her schooling from the Fellowship School at Nana Chowk,
Mumbai, she pursued her diploma in interior decoration at the spacious campus ofthe SVT Polytechnic, Santa Cruz in Central Mumbai.
The SVT Polytechnic is affiliated to the very respectable SNDT University. In 1999, she was married to Mr.Parag Shah. She works
from her flat at Church Gate, South Mumbai.

We met Mrs. Bhavita Shah while she was in Ahmedabad on a social visit.

Right from our childhood years, both my elder sister and I were always into drawing and other creative avenues. Our parents were
very keen that we have a sound education and towards that end, they spared no pain or expense. After my schooling, I took a
foundation course in commercial art at Sophia College and this did a world of good to me; it taught me all the basics. I strongly
recommend a foundation course of this sort to anyone aspiring to a career in architecture, interiors orcommercial art.