KARACHI: Schoolchildren dressed in traditional Sindhi, Balochi, Punjabi and Pakhtun clothes, some also dressed as British men and women with heroes from our history Jinnah and Iqbal, all waited for the Azadi Special Train on platform 8 of the Cantonment Railway Station here on Monday.

Somewhere in there were also seated Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri impersonators. “Well, when we have people from old Pakistan here, we also couldn’t ignore some from ‘Naya Pakistan’,” laughed Shaista Nasreen, headmistress of Pakistan Railway School, who was there with the students and one of her teachers Khursheed Begum applying glue to some of the kids’ upper lips to stick the fake moustaches. The children were all very excited rehearsing the tableaux and national songs with their teachers that they were to present before the passengers of the train once it arrived at the station.

“Due to security reasons, the passengers are mostly Pakistan Railway and Pakistan Railway Carriage Factory staff, people from the Arts Council of Pakistan, Lok Virsa, ISPR and the ministry of information,” said Mohammad Atiq, one of the Railway officials getting off the train as it arrived amid cheers and band music playing national song themes.

Mohammad Arshad, a railway scout, said he got on the train two days back at Tando Adam. “And it’s been an amazing experience for me. Wherever we went, we were received with so much enthusiasm. People, particularly children, waved and showered us with rose petals,” he said.

The Azadi Train has some 14 carriages and five decorated floats. The carriages include art galleries about the Pakistan Movement and the armed forces of Pakistan and their sacrifices. The floats had mountains, mosques, famous landmarks of Pakistan, including the Quaid-i-Azam’s mausoleum and Ziarat Residency, rivers, boats, the motorway and a bridge with the red Metro Bus along with handicrafts and people dressed in traditional clothes going about their daily chores.

Mohammad Shafiq, in charge guard of the special train, said the train, besides promoting Pakistan’s culture, showed that trains in Pakistan could be punctual. “We have been punctual throughout and arrived on schedule everywhere. Doing this we have boosted our own confidence. If this train can do it, so can the others,” he said.

Inside the four air-conditioned carriages, visitors got a taste of history as they admired photographs from the Pakistan Movement and the various wars fought by Pakistan. There were also life-size statues to be photographed with, models, relics and whatnot.

Mohammad Akram, a Railways public relations department official, said the train, which started its journey from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Aug 12 to celebrate Pakistan’s independence, travelled throughout the country, stopping at various cities for a couple of days each, to reach Karachi, its final stop. “It will stop here till Sept 11 before going back. Visitors can visit from 11am to 1pm and 3pm to 11pm during these days. It is an educational experience about Pakistan’s history, culture and tradition so we encourage you to bring your families, especially children, with you to get to know your country better,” he said.

Published in Dawn, September 9th, 2014