This story is from December 21, 2014

Is it a building? Is it a plane?...

…it’s a plane on a building. If you have ever been to or passed through 28, Subhash Marg, you would’ve definitely noticed the residential building with a life-size replica of an airplane built on it. Wondering if it is just cemented or there are rooms in it? Intrigued with the look of the Kothi? The magnificent ‘Jahaz Wali Kothi’ catches the eye of the young and old alike. The Kothi is currently witnessing the fourth generation of residents. Now divided among three brothers, it screams for maintenance.
Is it a building? Is it a plane?...
LUCKNOW: …it’s a plane on a building. If you have ever been to or passed through 28, Subhash Marg, you would’ve definitely noticed the residential building with a life-size replica of an airplane built on it. Wondering if it is just cemented or there are rooms in it? Intrigued with the look of the Kothi? The magnificent ‘Jahaz Wali Kothi’ catches the eye of the young and old alike.
The Kothi is currently witnessing the fourth generation of residents. Now divided among three brothers, it screams for maintenance.
Putting all his thoughts into the making of this beautiful structure, the founder-designer of the Kothi, Late Madhuri Sharan Rastogi, did not live long enough to enjoy the pleasures of residing in it. It was commissioned in 1955 and completed in three years’ time.
The building boasts of a three-storeyed ‘gol angan’ (circular courtyard) which was a rarity in contemporary architectural patterns. The silver-painted airplane was well ahead of its time with the lights and propellers, all in action. The propellers were attached to the pulley which could be operated through a motor. Later, the damaged metallic propellers were replaced with the wooden ones. The airplane is well ventilated with the help of three equally placed circular cemented openings. Not just for show, the airplane can accommodate 20-25 people in it.
If only the founder-designer would have lived long enough, he would have witnessed resized rooms, the absence of the ‘gol angan’, modernized interiors and the absence of the ‘baghiya’ (garden) in front. However, the back of the building still remains the same.
In the words of one of the inheritors, Manoj Rastogi enthusiastically shares all the information busts the myth that in the 1971 Indo-Pak war, the building was covered for security reasons. “From all that I have gathered so far, our building faced nothing of that sort,” he said laughing over the fact probably imagining the building in that state.
Owner of Das Pharmaceuticals, Manoj Rastogi hopes to get the building renovated some day with the consent of the other two brothers. “This desire to do has stopped us from making any changes to the exterior of the structure,” added a very hospitable Rastogi.
It appears that the owner of the building wanted to give a message to his family to achieve sky-high prosperity in all directions of human development and a long-lasting inspiration in the psyche of visitors. Till date, it is the first and the last building in India having such a replica.
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