I went to see the Azadi Express, a mobile exhibition put together by the government of India and Indian Railways and what good time other than 26th January? So nik & me got ready and rushed to the Bangalore cantonment to catch a glimpse of the exhibition.
We reached there at around 10.30 and saying that there was a long queue is saying anything but the least! After finally tracing the end of the line we stood patiently for our turn, which by the way came after 1 ½ hr!! However during the wait it was heartening to see so many parents accompanying their children to see this ‘Azadi Express’. People had come from as far as South Bangalore to see this rare exhibition.
The exhibition was organized in a train that was painted in our tri-colour. The paintings on both sides of the coaches traced the Indian Freedom struggle from 1857. So on one coach was painted the Soldier Mutiny while the other coach adorned the Dandi March. It was fun just looking at those painting and hearing the young ones accompanying their parent’s squeal out the freedom fighters names with joy.
Our patient wait finally bore fruit and we entered the train, and I must say it was a real brush with the past. The exhibition was put together very well with a good blend of photos, murals, thermocol cut-outs etc. However, the ‘desh-bhakti’ songs being played along with the announcements made by the volunteers was a little turnoff, and out of place!
Be it the old newspapers and their headlines describing the major events that took place, The Queens declaration after 1857, illustrations depicting the 1857 war, murals showing the brutality in the aftermath of 1857, photos showing the non-co-operation movement, Dandimarch, India’s first Independence day celebration…. You name it and it was there, all being unfolded like an illustrated story! It ended with the achievements of India as a nation after 1947 till 2007. The progress depicted in photographs and models included from fields like agriculture, defense, research, medicine, education, industry etc.
All in all it was an enriching experience, and a wonderful start to the Republic Day!
We reached there at around 10.30 and saying that there was a long queue is saying anything but the least! After finally tracing the end of the line we stood patiently for our turn, which by the way came after 1 ½ hr!! However during the wait it was heartening to see so many parents accompanying their children to see this ‘Azadi Express’. People had come from as far as South Bangalore to see this rare exhibition.
The exhibition was organized in a train that was painted in our tri-colour. The paintings on both sides of the coaches traced the Indian Freedom struggle from 1857. So on one coach was painted the Soldier Mutiny while the other coach adorned the Dandi March. It was fun just looking at those painting and hearing the young ones accompanying their parent’s squeal out the freedom fighters names with joy.
Our patient wait finally bore fruit and we entered the train, and I must say it was a real brush with the past. The exhibition was put together very well with a good blend of photos, murals, thermocol cut-outs etc. However, the ‘desh-bhakti’ songs being played along with the announcements made by the volunteers was a little turnoff, and out of place!
Be it the old newspapers and their headlines describing the major events that took place, The Queens declaration after 1857, illustrations depicting the 1857 war, murals showing the brutality in the aftermath of 1857, photos showing the non-co-operation movement, Dandimarch, India’s first Independence day celebration…. You name it and it was there, all being unfolded like an illustrated story! It ended with the achievements of India as a nation after 1947 till 2007. The progress depicted in photographs and models included from fields like agriculture, defense, research, medicine, education, industry etc.
All in all it was an enriching experience, and a wonderful start to the Republic Day!
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