Punjab Village Gets 'Statue Of Liberty'. Don't Believe It? Watch Here

House decor is often a reflection of a person’s taste, occupation or even aspirations. And some live by the principle “bizarre is beautiful”. People in parts of Punjab, for instance, use ornately designed water tanks or sculptures attached to their over-roof water tanks as part of house decoration.

Now a video showing an under-construction house getting a replica of New York’s Statue of Liberty is going viral.

This undated clip was shared on X with the caption, “Somewhere in Punjab the THIRD liberty statue is installed.” So far, it has gotten over 3.2 lakh views since being shared on May 26. To the uninitiated, such structures may appear bizarre, but they are common in areas like Doaba in Punjab.

Commenting on it, an X user explained the reason behind such elaborate water tank sculptures and wrote, “5 years back we did culture research in Punjab, and to our surprise we found many families installing water tanks shaped as aeroplanes, Statue of Liberty, Big Ben etc. This was a way of showing others that one of the sons/family members has moved abroad (even if they are driving a taxi there).”

Giving a similar explanation, another person wrote, “Normally in Punjab, it represents the country where the family members are currently living. It also normally acts as a water tank.”

Someone joked, “Now I realized when kids used to answer the question “Where is statue of Liberty, It is in India. They were just futuristic.”

An X user remarked, “You haven’t seen anything ….. aircraft and jumbo footballs and tractors all have been put on the roof – if a crane can lift it they will put it there.”

The ornate water tanks of Punjab have been a topic of much fascination for decades. Last year, photographer Rajesh Vohra released a photobook about such water tanks and sculptures, titled, “Everyday Monuments – The Rooftop Sculptures of Punjab.” For the book, Vohra visited over 150 villages in Punjab and captured some of the most unique water tanks.

Vohra agrees that the water tank’s design is used to signal the family’s profession, such as a tractor to show their agricultural ties or a football to show their connection to sports. Such water tanks make a unique architecture of Punjabi villages.