RANCHI: He never travelled in an aeroplane. But to fulfil the dreams of his grandchildren, Zakir Khan has done something that not many grandfathers have. To satisfy the demands of the youngest generation of his family, he has built a fullfledged replica of an aeroplane on his rooftop. It has become a hit and is drawing visitors to his house in Maheshpur village, about 30 kms from Ranchi. This ‘aircraft’ is 28-feet long and six-feet wide.
Like a plane, it has entry and exit gates with staircases, seats with seat belts, windows, a cockpit and all. Although Zakir has not seen an aeroplane in his life, he designed it based on Google search and completed building it with the help of local masons. Called ‘Indigo’, it cost him around Rs 10 lakh. “I had thought of making something unique on the top floor, but I never thought of an aeroplane. This idea came to mind because my grandchildren always asked for bigger planes whenever I bought them toy planes,” says the 52-yearold, who deals in building materials.
“Almost everything found in an aircraft is there,” he says. Family members and villagers laughed at him when he broke the idea. His wife Asgari Khatoon even went to the extent of calling him crazy. But as his dream project started nearing completion, the mood changed. “Although made of concrete, it looks like an original aircraft made of aluminium.
I am not an expert in engineering but I designed it on my own,” says Zakir. “When my husband told me that he wanted to construct a plane for the grandchildren, I called him crazy. But when it got completed, I started appreciating it,” says Asgari. The plane is drawing the attention of the entire village. “Instead of Maheshpur, people have started calling this village ‘hawai nagar’,” says Tabrez Khan, a villager.