Sonam Wangchuk Reveals the Story of the Jeep House

Earlier this week, Anand Mahindra the chairman of the Mahindra Group tweeted out pictures of an old Mahindra Commander jeep being used as a roof for a home in Ladakh. The Commander Jeep being used as the roof of a home is the work of Ladakh’s Himalayan Institute of Alternatives.

The Institute is the brainchild of Sonam Wangchuk, who was the basis of the character of Phunsuk Wangdu in the movie 3 Idiots. Mr Wangchuk has now revealed the story of the Jeep house while replying to Anand Mahindra on Twitter.

The repurposed Mahindra Jeep was bought to our attention by a tweet from Anand Mahindra on the 14th, in which the Mahindra Chairman stated, “A friend sent these pics from Sonam Wangchuk’s Himalayan Institute of Alternatives, Ladakh. Recycling a Mahindra car into a home roof. A way of life at the Institute, where nothing gets discarded. Well, this will compete with our auto-shredding venture but it’s far more creative!”

A friend sent these pics from Sonam Wangchuk’s Himalayan Institute of Alternatives,Ladakh.Recycling a Mahindra car into a home roof.A way of life at the Institute, where nothing gets discarded.Well this will compete with our auto-shredding venture but it’s far more creative! pic.twitter.com/p7UwgOvtxD

— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) December 14, 2018

The tweet was accompanied by images showing off the current life of the Jeep as the top section of a home in Ladakh. Late on Sunday, Sonam Wangchuk replied to the tweet by Anand Mahindra and the inspiring story of the previous life of the Jeep, when it wasn’t part of the house.

He tweeted out, “Dear Mr @anandmahindra the Jeep you tweeted has a lovely story. It was instrumental in educational campaigns in the remotest frontiers of Ladakh… which finally took the matriculation results from 5% to 75%. It served us faithfully between 1997 to 2007 before taking new avatara.”

Dear Mr @anandmahindra the Jeep you tweeted has a lovely story. It was instrumental in educational campaigns in the remotest frontiers of Ladakh… which finally took the matriculation results from 5% to 75%. It served us faithfully between 1997 to 2007 before taking new avatara. pic.twitter.com/N9ejsphOjQ

— Sonam Wangchuk (@Wangchuk66) December 17, 2018

While Mr Wangchuk has not yet revealed details about the the educational campaigns, the fact that this Jeep, which is now the basis of a home was actually responsible for increased matriculation results (in India, this refers to the Class X) exponentially from just 5 % to 75 % at the end of its 10 years on the road between 1997 and 2007 is a testament to the toughness of these old school Mahindra Jeeps and their ability to travel even the most treacherous of terrains.

While its days of roaming the Ladakh plateau and getting students into school may be long gone, this Mahindra Jeep seems to have settled into its second life with ease. Its second life has now even surpassed its life on wheels by a year and it still stands strong today 11 years after it began its vigil on top of a house and took on the tough climate of Ladakh.

Images from Anand Mahindra’s tweet show off just how this Mahindra Jeep is being put to use. While from one side it looks like the Mahindra is the top section of the entire house, a look from the front end of the home reveals that it takes up one side of the home on top of which it now stands. It would seem that the Mahindra Jeep now acts as a bedroom, allowing the owners of the house a clear view into their surroundings.