Why are there tanks, planes and elephants on the roofs of this village (8 photos)

In the depths of Punjab in India, there are villages whose buildings are decorated with the most unimaginable sculptures on the roof. But what on the roof!? So that everyone in the village can see better? No, these things have one very utilitarian purpose.





A replica of an Air India plane, a replica of an army tank, and suddenly… a globe! And all these beautifully decorated water tanks on the roofs of private houses.



This is a folk architectural tradition that dates back 50 years, and photographers have already taken over 150 such photos from small villages.





A bottle of whiskey, the owner of this house likes to drink

How do they get them in there? Where do they get them from?

And here is a terrible secret, where did your neighbors get such suspicious children's swings at their dachas? Yes, in the poorest villages they steal them from closed amusement parks. But many are made from scratch by builders so that they fit into the entire architecture of the building from the start.



A minibus or minivan, as I understand it

Because having such a sculpture as a reservoir is wildly prestigious and status-bearing, so everyone tries as best they can. The coolest statues stand on the houses of richer labor emigrants. They work in the city or even in the USA, and come to the village as if to a dacha - to show off.



A funny ox driver

"If someone is into sports, they will hang a football there, if they are a cook, they will put a pressure cooker... if someone likes to drink, they will put a bottle of whiskey," explained the photographer, who collects such photos. Airplanes, tanks and cars have also become popular motifs.



There are 30 permanent artisans in the region who work with homeowners and their families through word of mouth to create these sculptures.



Simple balls and jugs, poorer

The photographer initially stumbled upon these buildings by chance when he visited a gurdwara, a Sikh temple in the village of Talkhan known as Khawajahaj, or “Airplane.” Visitors bring model planes as gifts here in the hope that they will be granted quick approval for visas to leave India.



He has heard that many who have succeeded end up returning to their villages to add the planes to the exteriors of newly built homes, he explained.



A very funny but colorful tradition, the funny thing is that people come from abroad to support it.