Special train remembering Vivekananda’s Chicago speech

Eastern Railway ran a special train from Budge Budge to Sealdah, yesterday, 19 to mark the 122nd return day of Swami Vivekananda from Chicago, where he had delivered the historic lecture. On his way back to Kolkata from the US city in 1897, Vivekananda had travelled from the then Madras by steamer, which docked at Budge Budge on the banks of River Hooghly, 25 km away from the metropolis. Vivekananda had travelled by train to Kolkata from Budge Budge, in South 24 Parganas district, on February 19, 1897, to a rousing welcome and reception at the railway station here.

Swami Vivekananda had delivered the historic lecture at the Parliament of the World’s Religions in 1893 but returned to India four years later after extensively travelling through the US and UK, delivering lectures.To commemorate this occasion, Eastern Railway ran an Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) special train from Budge Budge to Sealdah (South) station. The flower-bedecked train left Budge Budge station at 11 am and arrived at Sealdah (South) station at 12.10 pm. Needless to say, there was huge enthusiasm among the visitors at the station. A statue of Vivekananda was alighted from the train and carried by devot