Can one imagine that once there were two separate tea-stalls in railway stations, one for Hindus and the other for Muslims! And that the stalls were boldly painted so that ‘Hindus’ would not go to the other stall manned for ‘Muslims’!
“Yes,” said Jagadish Rout, a corporate personality, who visited the week-long Indian Railways Exhibition organised by the East Coast Railways (ECoR) at the Mancheswar Stadium here. The exhibition concluded on Tuesday.
“This reminds us the strong communal differences in those times,” said Rout.
An intriguing photo of a train, which has bullocks pulling in place of an engine, also dotted the exhibition gallery, said Smita Nayak, a student of Blossoms School, Bhubaneswar, about one of her observations at the exhibition.
Many rare photographs put together memorise as to how train has been connecting people and the country for last 160 long years.
The photo exhibition showcased the evolution and rare moments of the Indian Railway’s glorious journey with more than 200 photographs being on display, reviving the nostalgia of passengers with ancient trains, engines and political dignitaries making their journeys, etc.
The photographs were divided into different varieties and according to various eras like Station Architecture, locomotives and Trains, Personalities, Carriages and Wagons, Men at Work, etc.
ECoR Chief Public Relations Officer Jyoti Prakash Mishra, along with his team, briefed the inquisitive visiting guests and clarifying their doubts on the photographs. A unique model room with actual models of trains, stations, signals and tracks was also displayed for the interest of school and college students.
“It is one of the nicest and interesting exhibitions I have ever seen,” said Pravat Champatiray, a senior teacher of a local school, who came along with his students to the exhibition.