MUMBAI, Sept. 29 -- The Indian Railways is seen as the leitmotif of Mahatma Gandhi's over three decade-long struggle to free India from the British Raj which, ironically, introduced the locomotive to the sub-continent in the 19th century. Soon, the Mahatma's message began to run furiously on the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, and Bombay, Baroda and Central India railway tracks - the two branches of the Indian Railways, cutting a swathe across communities, cultures and geographies. Ganesh Manohar Kulkarni, chief loco inspector (safety), Western Railway (WR), explores the Railway-Gandhi mythology in a slim Marathi book, titled 'Railway Aani Gandhi', which is set to be released at a literary conclave in Thane, on October 2, the Father of the Nation's 157th birth anniversary. Renowned translator Uma Kulkarni and writer Sarang Darshane will speak about the book. The 200-page book, published by Shabda Malhar Prakashan, a Nashik-based publishing house, offers a racy account of Gandhi's numerous tours across the Indian peninsula amidst the rising graph of the freedom movement. It is a welcome addition to the heavy corpus of Gandhian literature - stories of impromptu reception in the course of his journey are boundless. A huge crowd would gather at railway stations to catch a fleeting glimpse of the famous passenger or to simply watch the juggernaut pass by at a thunderous speed. "Gandhi would often say that he can safely claim without a tinge of arrogance that he is India's most widely travelled public figure," said activist and Gujarati writer Ramesh Oza. At every station Gandhi would perch himself on the footboard and greet the crowd with a 'namaste', often chiding a diehard fan who tried to get into the compartment through the window. Realising that Gandhi's arrival throws its time table out of gear, the railway authorities, in later years, designed a special salon for Gandhi and his team, although he didn't much avail of the amenity. Pointing out that Gandhi, a virulent critic of modern technology cleverly used the colonial contraption to unify India, Oza said, "The realist in Gandhi understood the socio-political significance of the railways and its incredible reach - that he pressed into service the railways and the printing press to challenge the British Raj was a master stroke." Stating that he was initially apprehensive about Kulkarni's book, publisher Swanand Bedarkar said, "I had the manuscript for three nearly three years. I wasn't sure if 'Railway Aani Gandhi' would make any sense in the times of AI. I agreed when Kulkarni pointed out that the Gandhi-railway story talks of resilience - both Gandhi's and that of the Indian Railways. Both complemented each other." Oza said the Pietermaritzburg episode in South Africa, in 1893, green signalled Gandhi's love affair with the Railways. A cop threw him out of a first class coach, rudely dismissing the young barrister's claim that he had a valid ticket. Stranded on the station in the middle of a severely cold night, Gandhi, lonely and desolate, quietly contemplated on his future. "The Pietermaritzburg night was a defining moment for Gandhi and for India as well. He turned into a rebel, set aside the thought of returning to India and resolved to fight British imperialism and racism," said Oza. Describing Gandhi as a "tireless traveller", Kulkarni said, "The railway compartment was a second home for him and his followers. As the train roared through villages, dusty plains, forests and towns Gandhi would read and write countless letters and the 'Young India' editorials, eat his meal of dates and grapes, and pray, and laugh and joke with his colleagues." "In the initial years people were terrified of the railway. They called it 'Dhoomrasur' - like the allegorical Bhasmasur and Bakasur of the Puranas. However, Indians began to trust the smoke-spewing demon because Gandhi travelled by it," added Kulkarni. Kulkarni, who joined the WR in 1990, wrote his first book, titled 'Rulanubandh' (Owing a debt to the Railways), celebrating the bond between the railways and Indians, in 2024. It ran into four editions. A chance visit to Gandhi Smriti railway station, near Navsari, as also the Sabarmati ashram while helming the Mumbai-Ahmedabad express fuelled the young auto pilot's interest in Gandhi. During his visit to Sabarmati Ashram a few years ago Kulkarni felt "extremely elevated" in the Mahatma's sparsely furnished room. Before he sat down to write 'Railway Aani Gandhi' Kulkarni rummaged the Indian Railways archives, and read nearly 50 tomes, including Ramchandra Guha's books and D G Tendulkar's eight-volume biography of the Mahatma....