While lately frontline Indian companies are making some progress in corporate governance but by and large business houses in India ranging from small to large sizes still depend heavily on misinformation, deceit and false claims than quality of products, design innovation and service to make profits. Our businesses and businessmen have a very dismal record about product innovation and customer service but probably they are the best in world when it comes to misinformation and confusing the consumers.

I used to see advertisements in newspapers and magazines from builders claiming that their homes are Vaastu compliant and I did not actually know what they mean until I recently visited many properties in Bangalore. I am having a plan to buy a small apartment and so I stared to do research and visit the model flats which fit my requirements and budget. I never care about Vaastu or Feng Shui and to be honest I am not a believer of these para sciences (if they cannot be called bad sciences) and so whether a flat is Vaastu compliant or not really doesn't matter to me.

But I was shocked to see how the builders are using this belief of Vaastu to justify their bad designs. Most of the builders are just in the game of making maximum profit from the piece of land they have got and they just don't care about natural light and breeze which is so essential from an architectural point of view. They just want to build maximum square feet so that their gains are maximized and they have just found these Vaastu and Feng Shui very convenient to ward off any uncomfortable question that a prospective buyer may ask.

And it is not only one or two builders that are using this ploy; 8 out of 10 builders I met have some way or other used the Vaastu excuse to justify their poor layout, lots of unusable cubicle spaces in their apartments and dark rooms and bathrooms. Some even went one step farther and referred their design as compliant not only with Vaastu but with Feng Shui as well. I was shocked to see and know from these learned Vaastu gurus that some apartments where 25% spaces were wasted in corridors or cubicles and some other apartments where 60% of the space don't get natural light and remain dark during day time are actually built as per the specification of the great Vaastu and Feng Shui.

I leave it to individuals whether they would believe Vaastu or Feng Shui and I have nothing against these para sciences as long are they are entertaining and do not do anything destructive or damaging. But please don't select the apartment on the basis of these claims and if we take the words of the builders at face value, believe me then I have already encountered 8 different versions of Vaastu which are totally at conflict with one another. It is like having 8 different laws that define gravitational attraction or 8 different results from adding a set of numbers.

If you want to know some basic tips about choosing a flat for a pleasant living there are few things that you must do. First, visit the apartment in the morning or in late afternoon and see whether all rooms and specially the bathrooms get natural light or not. Secondly apartments with three sides open are the best but there are not so many and so if you need to settle for the ones with two sides open the best bet is east and south followed by south and west.

You should also look for open space between apartment blocks and inside the compound as well and if there is space the rooms would get better ventilation. The size of the windows too matter and apartments with glass French windows will have more natural light and better views of the surroundings. The ventilation in bathroom is very important to keep the bathrooms dry and hygienic and most builders neglect that and try to place bathrooms in the darkest corner of the apartment.

The buyers will do better if they look for apartment blocks that are airy and lighted in the first place than Vaastu or Feng Shui compliant. An apartment with lots of natural light and fresh air will definitely keep you hale and hearty than a so called Vaastu compliant dark and gloomy home.