RANCHI: To fulfill the demands of his grandchildren to bring bigger toy airplane every time he brought one for them, Zakir Khan, 52, has constructed a replica of an aircraft on his rooftop which has now become a centre of attraction and people are thronging to his place just to have a glimpse of it.
Zakir, who spent nearly 10 lakh on this replica, has never travelled in the air but designed it on his own taking the help of Google and local masons.
Interestingly, not only the exteriors, but interiors also have almost the same features found in a real aircraft -- seats, seat belts, windows, cockpit, and other such things. Zakir has also named his house 'Indigo'.
“Though it was in my mind that I will make something unique, but I never thought of making a replica of an airplane. This idea came into my mind as my grandkids always wanted bigger airplanes whenever I brought toy airplanes for them,” said Zakir. In order to give them a feeling of sitting inside an aircraft, he has tried to make it look similar to it, fitting the seats and other accessories like an original airplane, he added.
This 28 feet long and 6 feet wide rooftop airplane also has a separate entry and exit gates with stairs for each of them.
“It is not only a replica from outside, but from inside also, everything which is found in an aircraft is available there,” said Zakir. Though people have constructed different things on their rooftops, this is the first such construction in Jharkhand which has become a centre of attraction for the people, he
added.
According to Zakir, initially, the family members and other villagers laughed at him but as soon as his dream project started getting completed, they started
praising his imagination.
“Though it is made of concrete, it looks like an original aircraft made of aluminum. At first look, no one can say that it is made of concrete as original tyres have been fitted in it,” Zakir said. Intestinally, the entire structure has been planned and designed by him.
“I am not an expert in civil engineering but I designed it on my own with the help of Google and the local masons gave shape to it,” said Zakir. He never had thought that it will become a centre of attraction and people will visit different places just to have a glimpse of it, he added.
Wife Asgari Khatoon was upset when her husband shared the idea with her and termed him crazy, but she started praising him as soon as it started taking shape.
“When my husband told me that he wanted to construct an airplane for the grandchildren, I called him crazy and termed the idea as a waste of money but when it got completed I appreciated it like anything. Not, only me but other relatives also termed him crazy in the beginning,” said wife Asgari Khatoon.
Another villager Tabrez Khan is of the view that it has brought a good name to the village.
“Instead of Maheshpur, people have now started recognizing this village as ‘Hawai Nagar’ and are thronging from distant places just to see it,” said Tabrez Khan. Now, other people in the village are also planning to do something unique on their rooftops in order to get recognition in the society, he added.