From cowshed to an offbeat AirBNB in Bir, Himachal

A simple cowshed lay in Lamabahar village in Kangra district before Jigish began work on this. What is known as modern-day Bir is a collection of seven villages including Lamabahar.

Known as ‘Aloft in Bir’, Jigish fancied the idea of having a loft space for guests with a wooden ladder to reach it. The entire structure was designed by him and executed with the help of mason Sanjeev, who also happened to be his landlord.

The bare walls add a rustic touch to the structure and were painted by Jigish’s friends. Including furnishings and fittings, the project cost him Rs 8 lakhs to build. It is very close to the paragliding landing site in Bir.

This portion that Jigish designed for guests is available on AirBNB for people to book. Mostly paragliding pilots who visit Bir during flying season take up the place for a few weeks, in addition to travellers, guests and Jigish’s friends.

Jigish doubled up as a mason along with other workers from the village to bring his vision to life. He described the process of building the house to be cathartic as the decision to shift to Bir was made after his father passed away during COVID-19.

Sanjeev’s father Prakash Chand offering prayers while laying the foundation of the structure. Sanjeev and his family live a few metres away from Jigish in the same plot and have now become family to him.

Sanjeev’s family came forward to build the house and brought in other workers from the village. In this picture, Sanjeev and his wife Rani can be seen working on the construction with their own house in the background.

The structure that was the cowshed became Jigish’s home. The stone portion of the wall was retained and a new structure was built over it. Also, the portion where cow fodder was placed (seen on the left) was retained and built into an extra bed with storage space. The adobe bricks from the cowshed were repurposed for making a kitchen for Sanjeev’s family.

The converted cowshed is presently where Jigish lives alone with occasional visits from many cats and dogs in the area. He works with IT to sustain himself and guides many pilots who come to learn cross-country (long-distance) flying in Bir.

Guests and friends during a barbecue evening held at Aloft. Sitting on the extreme right are Sarman and Naksh, Sanjeev’s sons. Many expats have now moved to Bir during COVID-19.

Prakash stands amidst their mustard field in the winter. Aloft can be seen behind him and the snow-clad Dhauladhar Range is in the background.  Bir is one of the best sites for cross-country flying in the world and Jigish has flown more than 200 kms in the Dhauladhars many times in his life.