Just two days left before this exhibition closes on March 20, 2008. I came to know of rather late. ----- Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar Nagpur, India Photographic Exhibtion of GT road Thursday, 17 January 2008 Old and New: The caretaker of Coronation Park, on the outskirts of Delhi, where statues of British rulers are surrounded by wasteland. A photographic exhibition detailing the long and fascinating history of The Grand Trunk Road, linking India and Pakistan, has opened at Redbridge Museum. The exhibition, by photographer Tim Smith and oral historian Irna Qureshi, explores the longest, oldest and most well-known highway in the Asian sub-continent, through pictures, personal stories and historical background. Travelling through Delhi, India, all the way to the Khyber Pass, the photographer and historian sought out people with links to Britain, photographing and interviewing them to collect the material for the exhibition. Redbridge Punjabi Centre general secretary Jagdev Purewal said the story of the road would be of great interest to Redbridge's Asian community. He said: "This is the most important trade route from Delhi to the Khyber Pass, going up to Afghanistan." The history of the route is vast. Alexander the Great brought his armies through the Khyber Pass to northern India 2,300 years ago, and the route was also used by the Mughals who brought Islam to the sub-continent. When the British conquered India, they resurfaced the road and named it the Grand Trunk Road. When British rule ended in 1947 and British India was separated into the independent states of India and Pakistan, the largest migration in human history took place along the Grand Trunk Road. More than 14 million people attempted to cross the new borders with Hindus and Sikhs fleeing to India, while Muslims crossed into Pakistan. Vast refugee camps sprang up as people became homeless in their new country and violence was rife along the route. The Grand Trunk Road is now split into two because of the partition, with a fortified border manned by troops separating India and Pakistan and halting free passage along the ancient road. The Grand Trunk Road is a touring exhibition from Bradford Museums, Galleries and Heritage. The exhibition opened on Monday, and will run until March 20 at the museum, on the first floor of Central Library, Clements Road, Ilford. Admission is free, and the exhibition can be viewed between 10am and 5pm Monday to Friday, and 10am to 4pm on Saturdays. http://www.punjabheritage.org/material-heritage/photographic--exhibtion-of-gt-road.html