LUCKNOW, Aug. 9 -- History merges with the timeless appeal of valour in the quest for freedom at the sleepy village of Kakori, about 20 km from the state capital, and the 120-year-old Chhedi Lal Dharamshala in a busy lane of Aminabad in the heart of Lucknow. The two sites pulsate with the spirit of patriotism even 100 years after the Kakori Train Action that dealt a blow to the British government's prestige.A visit to Room No. 227 on the first floor of the Chhedi Lal Dharamshala conjures images of the day when Ram Prasad Bismil and his nine fellow freedom fighters might have checked in while quietly planning the Kakori Action for August 8, 1925 initially. The room is the only renovated one at the dharamshala. "We thought it should be honoured in the name of those who gave up their lives for freedom. We got the room renovated in 2019," said dharamshala manager Ram Nath Gupta. In his book 'Lucknow ka Krantiteerth', Udai Khatri, historian and son of freedom fighter Ramkrishna Khatri, mentions that most of the revolutionaries stayed at Chhedi Lal Dharamshala as strangers. "At the decided time, they all assembled and began walking towards the railway station. However, once they reached it, they found out that they missed the Number 8 down-train from Shahjahanpur to Lucknow, making them shift their plan for the next day," the book says. Then, they boarded the train on August 9. Ashfaqullah Khan, Rajendra Nath Lahiri and Sachindra Nath Bakshi took second class tickets. The others, including Ram Prasad Bismil, Chandrashekhar Azad, Mukundilal, Murarilal, Kundanlal, Banwari Lal and Manmathnath Gupta, travelled third class and spread over the entire train, said Prof Aroop Chakraborty, former head of the medieval and modern history department of LU. "Those in the second class pulled the chain, the stoppage led to some commotion. The members jumped out to execute the plan," Chakraborty said. Mita Bakshi, granddaughter of freedom fighter Sachindranath Bakshi, said the mission was planned to get more funds to buy more Mauser pistols from Germany. As per an archival document (Hindustan Times has a copy), a case was registered in the name of 28 people under Sections 121 (A) and 120 (B) of the Indian Penal Code read with Sections 396 and 302 of IPC after the three complaints by an English officer Horton. The document mentions that cash worth Rs 3541, 3 paisa and 6 annas, GC notes worth Rs 1012 and vouchers worth Rs 125 and 14 paisa were carried away by the freedom fighters. Once the revolutionaries were arrested, the case began at Roshan-ud-daula Kachehri in December. 'Lucknow ki Chaya Mein,' a book by Ramkrishna Khatri, says, "A large number of people turned up outside the court and once our handcuffs were opened, one could not make out a difference between those accused and the public." The book mentions Basant Panchami day in 1926 when revolutionaries tied saffron handkerchiefs and sang 'Rang de Basanti Chola' on their way. The next day, several people with saffron caps turned up from Kanyakubja College (now Jai Narain PG College) to the court and all sang 'Rang de Basanti Chola'. After six months, the court shifted to the Rink Theatre (where GPO stands today). The Kakori Shaheed Smarak stands tall at Bajnagar village. Munnilal Rajput (75), the caretaker, recounts an eyewitness account by his grandmother. "My grandparents were devotees at a temple on the (present-day) Shaheed Smarak compound. My grandmother said she was doing puja on August 8, 1925 when young men came and began planning something," he says. "They failed to board the train (that day). However, they turned up again (the next day) and, barring a few others, went to the station again and the rest is history,"...