Spl train to chart Gandhi's journey from 'Mohan to Mahatma'; exhibition at Motihari stn

The Sapta Kranti Express, thematically decked up charting Gandhi's journey from 'Mohan to Mahatma', will run on October 2 between Muzaffarpur and Delhi to commemorate his 150th birth anniversary, railway officials said on Tuesday.

A day-long exhibition will also be hosted at the Motihari railway station to mark the occasion, they said.

"The 22 coaches of the Sapta Kranti Express plying betwen Muzaffarpur and Anand Vihar Terminal have been wrapped in colourful vinyl covers showcasing old pictures, which chart Gandhiji's journey from a young barrister to a freedom fighter who altered the course of history of a nation.

"This special train is being called 'Mohan to Mahatma' as a mark of respect to him," chief public relations officer (CPRO) of the East Central Railway Rajesh Kumar said.

He said the train's old rakes built by Integral Coach Factory in Chennai have been replaced with new-generation Germany-made Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) rakes.

"The train passes through Motihari junction and a special exhibition has been organised there, which will be inaugurated tomorrow on the 150th anniversary. We have sourced rare, old pictures from our own archives and Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Smriti, New Delhi," Kumar told PTI.

Sharing details about the exhibition, he said, special area has been designated to host the event and visitors would get to know Gandhi's journey from young lawyer to a man who spearheaded the destiny of India.

Gandhi had arrived in Bihar for the first time in 1917, two years after his return from South Africa. The England-trained barrister set foot in Patna on April 10, 1917, when he alighted from a third-class compartment at the Bankipore railway station, on way to Champaran.

The 48-year-old Mohandas K Gandhi set off a turn of events over the next few years, including the Champaran farmers' movement led by him, that would earn him the exalted moniker of 'Mahatma'.

He had come to Bihar at the invitation of indigo cultivator Raj Kumar Shukla who wanted him to take up the cause of the farmers who were forced to grow indigo by the British.

He arrived at the Bankipore station (old name of Patna railway station), and a framed painting showing him alighting from a third-class compartment, put up at the Patna Junction commemorates his first visit to Bihar's capital.

The old Bankipore station was located due south of the Patna GPO and westward of the current Patna Junction, and was later demolished.

"We are looking for details about the Bankipore station in our archives, as this is the station where Gandhi had arrived in 1917. The year of demolition is also not know yet," the CPRO said.

Mahatma Gandhi's first visit to Patna was very brief as he was on his way to Champaran district, which in 1970s was bifurcated into East Champaran (district headquarters Motihari) and West Champaran (district headquarters Bettiah).

From Patna, where he had stayed at 'Sikander Manzil' on Fraser Road, he took a train to Muzaffarpur and arrived in that north Bihar town at midnight where he was received by J B Kriplani, another Congress leader and professor at a college.

During his visit there, he also stayed at Greer Bhumihar Brahmin College (now renamed L S College) and held meeting with Secretary of Bihar Planter's Association James Wilson and Commissioner of Tirhut Division L F Morsehead on the peasant's situation.

Delhi-based Gandhian scholar Shobhana Radhakrishna says, "At Muzaffarpur station students had crowded to receive him. A horse carriage was parked outside the station to transport him but students were so excited they unyoked the horses and themselves rolled the carriage to its destination."