Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Jagadish Shettar’s elevation as Chief Minister has definitely cheered some rationalists. His sudden good fortune has disproved the myth that his official residence, Cauvery, is jinxed because of faulty vaastu.
Political leaders have repeatedly shunned Cauvery — a beautiful bungalow with a sprawling garden — as their official residence, believing that their careers will nosedive because its design does not follow the tenets of vaastu. This “jinxed” building was blamed for the political setbacks of its earlier occupants, including the then Chief Minister J.H. Patel, the then Deputy Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, the then Speaker M.V. Venkatappa and Iqbal Ansari, who served as Minister in both the JD(S)-Congress and JD(S)-BJP coalition governments.
In fact, when Mr. Shettar’s previous attempt to become Chief Minister failed last year, vaastu experts and some political leaders put the blame squarely on Cauvery’s doorstep. Incidentally, Cauvery is the only official quarters in Bangalore that has a fruit garden and kitchen garden, apart from a spacious flowering patch.
