The Indian villages with rooftop sculptures of planes, tanks and cars

Photographer Rajesh Vora documented the rural Punjab villages where eclectic architectural sculptures have sprung up across the region as status symbols.

Looking down a street in Daulatpur, a rural village in Punjab, India with a mishmash of eclectic, colorful architecture, photographer Rajesh Vora felt he had struck lucky. In front of him, was a large facsimile of an Air-India plane on top of a pale green building. Facing it from across the street, a replica of an army tank atop a yellow residence pointed its gun, the painted figure of a soldier rising from its hatch. Though the designs could have been plucked from an amusement park, they were actually elaborate rooftop water tanks of private homes. Vora’s images of this phenomenon — a vernacular tradition of architectural icons that sprung up across the across the northwestern state some five decades ago — became a multiyear project that the Mumbai-based photographer is now exhibiting at Les Rencontres d’Arles in France this summer. He visited 150 villages and photographed hundreds of these designs. The ostentatious décor is “a brilliant idea combining form and function,” Vora said in a phone call with CNN. The first time he noticed the water tanks while on assignment in the region in 2014, he was “amused, like anybody would be seeing this kind of sculpture,” he explained. “But then I realized, as an architecture photographer, what amazed me was the integration of the sculptures on the houses, built by local artisans.” Crowning the tops of these homes, the unusual status symbols are often commissioned by Indian emigrants who return home during the year, or by their families who still live in the region. Some are functional water tanks while others sit on top more traditional plumbing designs. Each tell a specific story, he explained. “If somebody plays sports, they’ll put up a football there, if they are a chef they will put a pressure cooker… if somebody likes a nice drink, they’ll put a bottle of whiskey,” he explained. Planes, tanks and cars became popular motifs, too. “All their personal aspirations are embodied in their houses.” Last year, Vora published a book, “Everyday Monuments” that features images from some the villages he visited and brings together texts from architectural, scholarly and curatorial experts to explore the unique tradition. Through their research, they approximate that there are around 30 artisans in the region who work with homeowners and their families via word of mouth to create these lively sculptures.