“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” We agree; classroom studies can be boring and dull the senses. With the intention of rejuvenating young minds and opening a window outside the school books, the children of classes 4 to 7 were taken out for an excursion on Saturday, 2 August 2014, to the Kakori Railway Station.
Kakori Railway Station is of historical importance and comes up in narrations of India’s struggle for independence. It was here on 9th of August, 1925, that the freedom fighters robbed the train carrying money-bags from the British Government treasury under the leadership of Pandit Ram Prasad Bismil. The train robbery was a daring attempt to challenge British authority and executed by Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan, Rajendra Lahiri, Chandrashekhar Azad, Sachindra Bakshi, Keshab Chakravarty, Manmathnath Gupta Murari Lal Gupta, Mukundi Lal Gupta and Banwari Lal
While the historical significance of the station underscored the importance of our hard-earned freedom, the nitty gritties of the working of a Railway Station remained the primary focus. Children observed all the working of various offices, collection counters, yard, signals, and control roomwith great interest. The layout of the station was explained and the importance of each segment made evident. The children also learnt about the routes and the time table of various trains that go through Kakori station. They also saw the train corrector wagon at work. This wagon is used for repairing trains and electric cables. They saw the train yard and the store house as well. Children were enthralled on seeing the trains passing by with great speed and how each train receives its signal and follows it to the dot. The role of the station master and all key persons involved in the working of a station did not escape their observant eyes.
The mundane and uninteresting Railway Station became the center of their attention this day, and the Children were amazed at the umpteen learning opportunities this otherwise ordinary place held for them. We are glad the children enjoyed this trip to the fullest and returned with a mind full of information, sharp observations and indelible memories.