Azadi Express
The Azadi Express chugged into Bangalore’s Cantonment station on 23rd Jan, but I managed to catch my tryst with history only today. The press release on 22nd did pique my interest but beyond this initial coverage, the AE all but disappeared from the newsprint. With one day short of Republic Day, it seemed an apt time to board the Express.
I was in the station 2 days ago, hoping to catch up with a friend of my aunt who was travelling to her city and agreed to ferry across some stuff for her. I was to meet uncle at the Coffee Day Express on the station, hand over the stuff and rush to my next engagement. While picking up the platform tickets, I asked for directions to the Coffee Day Express and for some reason, the bloke at the ticket counter insisted that there wasn’t any Coffee Express train, only the Azadi Express. By the time I got across to him that I was only interested in the express of the coffee drinking type, it erupted to being the afternoon joke for those bored souls at the ticket counter. As I sauntered over to the CCD Express, I casually asked the coffee-walla details of the AE and all he had to say was there was some meeting of railway officials on the train. So much for the historic glory of a train, that covered hearts of Indians as it travelled miles across the country.
With that prelude to the AE as a suitable background, I set out to check out the AE, with Mom, a Indian history buff in tow this time. We were greeted by a really long queue which we soon joined with a resigned air. The painted boogies managed to keep us occupied. By then, a warm sense of pride began to grow from the fact that so many folks were interested in the history of our country from 1857 to 2007 that was being showcased through the AE. For a fauji family like ours, such civilian interest is well, …interesting and a pleasure to view. Infact, by then, this pride coupled with the fact that we were almost half-way, made all the initial feeling of dread vanish and we got caught up in doing some shutterwork.
Our bubble of glow was soon to be burst. Just as we were about to board the stationary museum train, 2 youths, of more or less my height, one with kohl rimmed eyes, barged into the line ahead of us. We were busy watching the façade, lined with pictures from the Independence relevant to Karnataka but luckily for us, the friendly family of 3 ahead of us noticed this and loudly protested. We too began protesting and the troublesome duo moved behind us to come ahead of the elderly couple who were previously behind us. The elderly gentleman complained to the railway officials who were manning the entry but to no avail. Infact the officials seemed remotely interested in the going-ons. Finally, left with no option, the elderly gentleman attempted sarcasm saying that the troublesome duo had come to see the Independence journey by pushing elderly people and taking their place. We jumped onto this and together managed to scurry the duo behind the elderly couple now.
With this incident and the waiting and the queues behind us, we proceeded to finally board the AE. The walk down the train of history commenced with the first page of the Constitution on a huge wall poster and a model of the Ashoka pillar-head. It was truly a learning experience, never mind the cliché. It attempts to portray the events, the people and the results of incidents that shaped and influenced the path towards our country’s Independence. It effectively uses the media of photographs, A/V, murals, modeling, posters, etc, all creating a larger than life view that is complemented by Indian music that subtly plays in the background. It starts with the atrocities inflicted by the British on Indians to Independence in 1947 to the country’s coming of age as a super power in 2007.
What did I take back with me? The fact that myriad protests against the British started as early as 1763 across various parts of India and not as late as the 1857 landmark event. Flashback of news and events from the past that I remembered reading about - Huge blow-ups of the miniature pictures that appeared in my ICSE history text books – A face to the many names that have been associated with the Independence struggle – A photograph of the 3 defence chiefs signing the 1971 peace treaty post a war that my father also fought in – A great level of detailing and thoroughness to the research presented there – And a repository of memorablia that more than adequately encapsulates the freedom struggle and the years post Azadi.
What was disappointing? The constant shuffling and pushing of people that is now sadly a foregone conclusion in any public, free-for-all event. The AE reps constantly shouting at us like cattle herds, asking us to move quickly “Only 15 minutes. Please see the train quickly!” Infact, the boogies dedicated to the period before and around 1857 were something I’d like to have lingered over. Instead, that was probably the swish-by-the-fastest section. Somehow in between the push of the crowds, I managed to take some shots and spend some time over artifacts that interested me here and there. Frankly, in all probability, we only managed to see one half of the train in entirety – sometimes the left side and sometimes the right. The times we got to see both sides leisurely and soak in the mood it was intended to evoke, were few and too far in between.
As we moved down the 11 boogies that are part of the AE, we passed by different phases of history. A number of images flashed by, many of which we would not remember, some of which we will. The sense of regret and helplessness of not seeing the AE in a manner that does justice to the way it was conceptualized and developed remains. But it is outweighed by the sense of pride and in a way, gratitude to those individuals who sacrificed more than their lives to get us to where we are today. The numerous untold stories, of which we saw a glimpse for the first time, were sufficient to indicate the countless others that were not documented.
The Azadi Express is a rich tribute to all this and more. A must-see, especially relevant as we stand on the anvil of another Republic Day, this one more than 245 years after a series of events occurred and spiralled into becoming our history as we know it – and in many ways that we still don’t know. I’m glad I had this tryst with history on the Azadi Express, inspite of all the artificial barriers that took away from the pleasure of viewing it. I walked away, feeling oh-so-azad and alive, with a deep sense of appreciation for the country that stands today. Jai Hind!
The Azadi Express chugged into Bangalore’s Cantonment station on 23rd Jan, but I managed to catch my tryst with history only today. The press release on 22nd did pique my interest but beyond this initial coverage, the AE all but disappeared from the newsprint. With one day short of Republic Day, it seemed an apt time to board the Express.
I was in the station 2 days ago, hoping to catch up with a friend of my aunt who was travelling to her city and agreed to ferry across some stuff for her. I was to meet uncle at the Coffee Day Express on the station, hand over the stuff and rush to my next engagement. While picking up the platform tickets, I asked for directions to the Coffee Day Express and for some reason, the bloke at the ticket counter insisted that there wasn’t any Coffee Express train, only the Azadi Express. By the time I got across to him that I was only interested in the express of the coffee drinking type, it erupted to being the afternoon joke for those bored souls at the ticket counter. As I sauntered over to the CCD Express, I casually asked the coffee-walla details of the AE and all he had to say was there was some meeting of railway officials on the train. So much for the historic glory of a train, that covered hearts of Indians as it travelled miles across the country.
With that prelude to the AE as a suitable background, I set out to check out the AE, with Mom, a Indian history buff in tow this time. We were greeted by a really long queue which we soon joined with a resigned air. The painted boogies managed to keep us occupied. By then, a warm sense of pride began to grow from the fact that so many folks were interested in the history of our country from 1857 to 2007 that was being showcased through the AE. For a fauji family like ours, such civilian interest is well, …interesting and a pleasure to view. Infact, by then, this pride coupled with the fact that we were almost half-way, made all the initial feeling of dread vanish and we got caught up in doing some shutterwork.
Our bubble of glow was soon to be burst. Just as we were about to board the stationary museum train, 2 youths, of more or less my height, one with kohl rimmed eyes, barged into the line ahead of us. We were busy watching the façade, lined with pictures from the Independence relevant to Karnataka but luckily for us, the friendly family of 3 ahead of us noticed this and loudly protested. We too began protesting and the troublesome duo moved behind us to come ahead of the elderly couple who were previously behind us. The elderly gentleman complained to the railway officials who were manning the entry but to no avail. Infact the officials seemed remotely interested in the going-ons. Finally, left with no option, the elderly gentleman attempted sarcasm saying that the troublesome duo had come to see the Independence journey by pushing elderly people and taking their place. We jumped onto this and together managed to scurry the duo behind the elderly couple now.
With this incident and the waiting and the queues behind us, we proceeded to finally board the AE. The walk down the train of history commenced with the first page of the Constitution on a huge wall poster and a model of the Ashoka pillar-head. It was truly a learning experience, never mind the cliché. It attempts to portray the events, the people and the results of incidents that shaped and influenced the path towards our country’s Independence. It effectively uses the media of photographs, A/V, murals, modeling, posters, etc, all creating a larger than life view that is complemented by Indian music that subtly plays in the background. It starts with the atrocities inflicted by the British on Indians to Independence in 1947 to the country’s coming of age as a super power in 2007.
What did I take back with me? The fact that myriad protests against the British started as early as 1763 across various parts of India and not as late as the 1857 landmark event. Flashback of news and events from the past that I remembered reading about - Huge blow-ups of the miniature pictures that appeared in my ICSE history text books – A face to the many names that have been associated with the Independence struggle – A photograph of the 3 defence chiefs signing the 1971 peace treaty post a war that my father also fought in – A great level of detailing and thoroughness to the research presented there – And a repository of memorablia that more than adequately encapsulates the freedom struggle and the years post Azadi.
What was disappointing? The constant shuffling and pushing of people that is now sadly a foregone conclusion in any public, free-for-all event. The AE reps constantly shouting at us like cattle herds, asking us to move quickly “Only 15 minutes. Please see the train quickly!” Infact, the boogies dedicated to the period before and around 1857 were something I’d like to have lingered over. Instead, that was probably the swish-by-the-fastest section. Somehow in between the push of the crowds, I managed to take some shots and spend some time over artifacts that interested me here and there. Frankly, in all probability, we only managed to see one half of the train in entirety – sometimes the left side and sometimes the right. The times we got to see both sides leisurely and soak in the mood it was intended to evoke, were few and too far in between.
As we moved down the 11 boogies that are part of the AE, we passed by different phases of history. A number of images flashed by, many of which we would not remember, some of which we will. The sense of regret and helplessness of not seeing the AE in a manner that does justice to the way it was conceptualized and developed remains. But it is outweighed by the sense of pride and in a way, gratitude to those individuals who sacrificed more than their lives to get us to where we are today. The numerous untold stories, of which we saw a glimpse for the first time, were sufficient to indicate the countless others that were not documented.
The Azadi Express is a rich tribute to all this and more. A must-see, especially relevant as we stand on the anvil of another Republic Day, this one more than 245 years after a series of events occurred and spiralled into becoming our history as we know it – and in many ways that we still don’t know. I’m glad I had this tryst with history on the Azadi Express, inspite of all the artificial barriers that took away from the pleasure of viewing it. I walked away, feeling oh-so-azad and alive, with a deep sense of appreciation for the country that stands today. Jai Hind!
1 comment:
Ohmygosh- it is you!
contact me.
Aparna.
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