Rajesh Vora’s interest in the everyday sculptural objects that adorn rooftops of homes in the Punjab hinterland began in 2014. This vernacular craft found patronage with the first wave of immigrants, the NRI (Non-resident Indians), who started building homes in their villages back in the late 1970s. Ever since this unique phenomenon grew in ambition and imagination to become an integral part of the village landscape. While most homes remain closed during the year, waiting for their owners to return for their annual holiday, these colorful objects remind society of their struggles, achievements and prosperity.

Battle tanks, weight lifters, heroes, footballs and footballers, lotuses, animals, the ubiquitous Maruti cars and the most important of them all, the airplanes rise from rooftops to make a dramatic skyline in an otherwise sedate landscape. Vora’s fascination for these objects became an obsession as he travelled over 6,000 km crisscrossing and backtracking across four districts in Punjab to photograph them. These icons of aspiration are often entwined with the personal histories of their long-distance owners. As a cultural and sociological phenomenon, this idiosyncratic aesthetic stands tall and distinct in the domestic architecture of the region.

What unfolds is a colorful narrative sans nostalgia, filled with humour, celebration and remembrance.