In an interesting Twitter exchange, Sonam Wangchuk – engineer, innovator and educator who inspired Aamir Khan’s character in 3 Idiots – told Anand Mahindra the story behind the Mahindra jeep that was recycled into a roof at his Himalayan Institute of Alternatives.
The fascinating picture, which went viral a few days ago after it was tweeted by Anand Mahindra, chairman of Mahindra Group, shows a jeep that was converted into a roof at Mr Wangchuk’s Himalayan Institute of Alternatives. Praising the innovation, Mr Mahindra wrote: “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.”
On Monday, Mr Wangchuk tweeted a response from his unverified Twitter handle and revealed the remarkable story behind the recycled jeep.
“Dear Mr Anand Mahindra 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%,” he said.
He added that the Mahindra jeep served the institute between 1997 to 2007, before taking on its new avatar as a home’s roof.
