Students observe the exhibition inside the Mother Express at Mancheswar Railway Station in Bhubaneswar. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Jan. 24: Scores of youngsters visited Mother Express, an exhibition train launched by Indian Railways to commemorate Mother Teresa’s birth centenary.

The exhibition on wheels chugged into the capital from Berhampur this morning and has been parked at the Mancheswar railway station for a two-day public viewing from 10am to 5pm. It has three air-conditioned coaches adorned with large laminated photographs and write-ups showcasing the life of Albania-born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu from an ordinary girl to “Saint of the Gutters” and “Blessed Teresa of Calcutta”. An audio-visual documentary on her life was also being screened.

It was a memorable experience for the visitors. They were seen scribbling on notepads and clicking pictures of the exhibits inside the train.

“I got a lot of information regarding the highs and lows of Mother Teresa’s life, which are significant for my scrapbook on great personalities. I also clicked pictures of rare photographs of her early days,” said Sonali Priyadarshini, an undergraduate student of Rama Devi Women’s Autonomous College.

One of Sonali’s classmates, D. Sarojini Reddy, said: “Mother Teresa is my inspiration. At 18, she came to India and devoted her entire life to the cause of the sick and downtrodden.”

For several others, curiosity led them to visit the special train. “I was returning from my college and saw an unusually large crowd at the station. Soon, I learnt about this special train to spread the message of peace and compassion,” said Deepak Jena, an engineering student of Noesis Integrated Technology Centre.

“Some of my friends told me we could get a free view of a stationary train here. So, I brought my four-year-old son Happy who had never seen a train,” said Naresh Digal, an autorickshaw driver.

The train, which was flagged off on August 26 last year from Sealdah station in Calcutta by railway minister Mamata Banerjee, has travelled through many states. It would leave the city tomorrow for Jharkhand and Bihar before concluding its journey in Katihar on February 26.