A chinese man aspired to own a plane but also realised that his dream and his age were racing in different directions. He didn't bury the dream but tweaked it a bit. A farmer by profession, he consumed all his life-long savings and built a plane (read more here).
Similar story took place in India but with a tad twist. The man here is the owner of a dhaba (roadside eating joint) on Delhi-Jaipur Highway - approx. 35 km before Neemrana. His story went completely unnoticed.
Most travellers bypass his gloomy and not so decorative outlet, especially because adjacent to it stands a flashy Haveli (a chain of upmarket highway restaurants).
Similar story took place in India but with a tad twist. The man here is the owner of a dhaba (roadside eating joint) on Delhi-Jaipur Highway - approx. 35 km before Neemrana. His story went completely unnoticed.
Most travellers bypass his gloomy and not so decorative outlet, especially because adjacent to it stands a flashy Haveli (a chain of upmarket highway restaurants).
The non attractive site would have slipped my eyes as well but I consider myself lucky to have decided not to stop at any aristocratic place. The car was already inside the gates of Haveli but my stubbornness, to have my morning tea at some small shack, overpowered and we had to reverse.
As we were swerving the car again on the main road, I spotted an aircraft parked at the side of the road. My excitement was natural. We were nowhere near any airport!
It was Sri Baanke Bihari Tourist Dhaba - a typical highway dhaba. The only additional feature of this dhaba was this aircraft - a 737 white cargo plane with 'Bhartiya Daak' (Indian Post) written in bold red letters.
Curious as I was, I had to strike a conversation with the owner. An unassuming personality and a below ordinary getup - the man sounded extremely casual when I started firing questions about the plane.
"I had bought it in an auction in Delhi for 1.5 crore (10.5 million) Indian Rupees," said the owner casually. I gave a second look to his dhaba and was not sure if he is making even 1,000 rupees every day.
"I want to convert it into a restaurant but that may take 3-4 years, but if that idea does not work out, I may just sell it as scrap; as it has 42-45 tonnes of high quality aluminium which will easily get me 2-3 crore (20-30 million)."
He got up and resumed what he had been doing but left me wondering. India is a land of strange things. The owner of a roadside dhaba buys a plane with nothing in mind. After spending millions, he now toys with ideas to either make it a restaurant or sell it as scrap!
As we were swerving the car again on the main road, I spotted an aircraft parked at the side of the road. My excitement was natural. We were nowhere near any airport!
It was Sri Baanke Bihari Tourist Dhaba - a typical highway dhaba. The only additional feature of this dhaba was this aircraft - a 737 white cargo plane with 'Bhartiya Daak' (Indian Post) written in bold red letters.
Curious as I was, I had to strike a conversation with the owner. An unassuming personality and a below ordinary getup - the man sounded extremely casual when I started firing questions about the plane.
"I had bought it in an auction in Delhi for 1.5 crore (10.5 million) Indian Rupees," said the owner casually. I gave a second look to his dhaba and was not sure if he is making even 1,000 rupees every day.
"I want to convert it into a restaurant but that may take 3-4 years, but if that idea does not work out, I may just sell it as scrap; as it has 42-45 tonnes of high quality aluminium which will easily get me 2-3 crore (20-30 million)."
He got up and resumed what he had been doing but left me wondering. India is a land of strange things. The owner of a roadside dhaba buys a plane with nothing in mind. After spending millions, he now toys with ideas to either make it a restaurant or sell it as scrap!
What do you say?
