On a rainy April morning, Mintu Roy checks the emerald rows of bitter gourd and cucumber creepers climbing on wire trellises on his two-hectare farm.
The plants are heavily laden with vegetables, much to Roy's delight. He's hoping this season’s yield will be a profitable one, so he can complete the third floor of his ambitious dream house.
The vegetable farmer, who is from a small village in West Bengal, India, has a unique dream to build a house modelled on a famous ship, the Titanic. Inspired by the doomed vessel's grandeur and magnificence, Roy has spent the best part of 10 years determined to turn his dream into a reality, funding the project by selling his seasonal vegetable crops at local farmers' markets.
“It took me so long to complete this house because I am dependent on the rain and favourable weather conditions to get a high yield of vegetables," he says.
However, thanks to a bumper aubergine harvest a few years ago, he was able to start making progress.
"That year’s harvest earned me more than four lakh ($4,894) which gave me the confidence to build the second floor," Roy says. “I need about 10 to 15 lakh more to complete and furnish my ship abode."
In total, Roy estimates he has spent upwards of 15 lakh on the project, with the help of income from his crops and from his second job as an electric rickshaw driver. And thanks to a stint learning masonry, he has been able to carry out much of the project's construction work himself.
“I worked in construction in Nepal for a few months because I wanted to learn the techniques to build a house from scratch,” he says.
“At first, my neighbours thought I was crazy. They couldn't understand why I would want to live in a house shaped like a ship. But as they watched me work tirelessly for months, they began to see my vision slowly coming to life.”
Roy's house in the village of Nijbari, Phasidewa, about 14km from the Indo-Bangladesh border, has become something of a landmark, popularly known as Jahaj bari, or the ship house. The house is often visited by people keen to get a look at what he has built, from journalists to school pupils.
“We have given multiple interviews and have started getting visitors from nearby places,” says Iti, Roy's wife of 21 years. “We like the attention that our house is drawing but sometimes it becomes overwhelming to respond to phone calls and random visitors.”
Iti, with the couple's two children, Babita, 19 and Kiran, 16, have helped support Roy's dream, which was sparked in childhood when he saw decorations built for the Durga Puja festival in the shape of the Titanic. Since then, he has been steadily working on creating his dream home, replicating the famous ship as closely as possible.
"The house will have three levels, with the first level resembling the Titanic's deck, complete with railings, lifeboats, and even a replica of the ship's wheel, with an anchor hanging by its side," Roy says.
Inside, there are three rooms that resemble cabins, as well as a kitchen on the ground floor.
“His attention to detail is exceptional. He wants to recreate the Titanic's grand staircase, which was the centrepiece of the ship's interior," Iti says. "The house's interior will be designed to resemble the Titanic's cabins and lounges.”
Outside, the home's structure has also been designed to closely mimic that of the original, including the bow and stern, using steel and concrete. "It wasn't an easy task," he says. "I had to break and rebuild the bow of the ship a few times because the local masons were not able to get its perfect shape."
Since starting the project in 2013, Roy has made slow but steady progress and is hoping with the funds from this year's crops, he'll be close to completing the ship's third floor. And once the project is finished, he hopes it will offer another stream of income for the family. “I want to run a small tea shop on the deck and host guests,” he says.
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
HAJJAN
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How to donate
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BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
FA CUP FINAL
Manchester City 6
(D Silva 26', Sterling 38', 81', 87', De Bruyne 61', Jesus 68')
Watford 0
Man of the match: Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
If you go:
The flights: Etihad, Emirates, British Airways and Virgin all fly from the UAE to London from Dh2,700 return, including taxes
The tours: The Tour for Muggles usually runs several times a day, lasts about two-and-a-half hours and costs £14 (Dh67)
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is on now at the Palace Theatre. Tickets need booking significantly in advance
Entrance to the Harry Potter exhibition at the House of MinaLima is free
The hotel: The grand, 1909-built Strand Palace Hotel is in a handy location near the Theatre District and several of the key Harry Potter filming and inspiration sites. The family rooms are spacious, with sofa beds that can accommodate children, and wooden shutters that keep out the light at night. Rooms cost from £170 (Dh808).
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
US households add $601bn of debt in 2019
American households borrowed another $601 billion (Dh2.2bn) in 2019, the largest yearly gain since 2007, just before the global financial crisis, according to February data from the New York Federal Reserve Bank.
Fuelled by rising mortgage debt as homebuyers continued to take advantage of low interest rates, the increase last year brought total household debt to a record high, surpassing the previous peak reached in 2008 just before the market crash, according to the report.
Following the 22nd straight quarter of growth, American household debt swelled to $14.15 trillion by the end of 2019, the New York Fed said in its quarterly report.
In the final three months of the year, new home loans jumped to their highest volume since the fourth quarter of 2005, while credit cards and auto loans also added to the increase.
The bad debt load is taking its toll on some households, and the New York Fed warned that more and more credit card borrowers — particularly young people — were falling behind on their payments.
"Younger borrowers, who are disproportionately likely to have credit cards and student loans as their primary form of debt, struggle more than others with on-time repayment," New York Fed researchers said.
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
