SHORT STORY 2 :The Night Train at Deoli - Ruskin Bond

SHORT STORY 2 :The Night Train at Deoli - Ruskin Bond

Introduction:  “The Night Train at Deoli” is a short story by Ruskin Bond.  It narrates the story of a short meeting that takes place between an eighteen year old college student travelling by train and a young girl selling baskets on a railway platform.  He meets the girl only twice during his travels.  He understands that the girl had stolen his heart.

The first meeting : An eighteen year old college student travels from the plains to his hometown of  Dehradun every summer. He prefers to travel by the overnight train. Early in the morning the train stops in the  small village of Deoli. The student does not understand why the train had to stop there as no one either got on or off the train at that station.On one such trip, the student notices a pale girl selling cane baskets on the platform. She appears to be poor, but moves with grace and dignity. Her shiny black hair and dark, troubled eyes attracts the author. The girl offers to sell baskets to him. He initially refuses to buy and later when she insists, happens to buy one with a little hesitation, daring not to touch her fingers. Both of them just look at each other for quite some time without speaking a word. It seems to form a bond between them. As the train moves away he asks  her whether she would be there on his return journey. Though she says something, he is unable to hear it because of the train's noise.

The second meeting: On his return journey he looks for her and finds her. They are happy to see each other like long lost friends. Though they do not speak a word, their silence speaks more than words. He feels like taking her with him but does not do so. He tells her that he needs to go to Delhi and she replies saying she need not go anywhere, perhaps expressing her helplessness. Both of them separate unwillingly as the train leaves the station, with the hope of meeting again. The meeting helps to break the monotony of his journey. It gives a sense of attachment and  responsibility towards the girl.  Both during his journey and for a long time later on, he keeps thinking of the girl he met at the station at Deoli.

The narrator's disappointment: The next summer, soon after his college term finishes, he hurriedly leaves for Dehra. His visit to see his grandmother is just an excuse . He is eager to meet the girl once again. This time she is not to be seen at the Deoli station though he waits for a long time. This deeply disappoints him and a sense of foreboding overcomes him. On his way back to Delhi, he again waits anxiously to see her, but it ends in vain. On enquiry, he comes to know that the girl has stopped coming to the station to sell her cane baskets  and nobody knows about her .  Once again, he has to run to catch his train. He makes up his mind that he would definitely break journey there, spend a day in the town, make enquiries and find the girl who had stolen his heart.

The narrator's subsequent visit: The following year in summer, he again walks up and down the platform hoping to see the girl, but somehow, he cannot bring himself to break the journey to look for her. He seems to be afraid of discovering the truth about her. He is afraid that he might find out something unpleasant about her which is not acceptable to him. He just wants to retain his sweet memories of her. But he suggests to his readers that he did not want to project himself like a hero of a movie where the hero would meet his beloved after undergoing all hardships and finally win  her over. He prefers to keep hoping and dreaming, waiting for the girl.
Conclusion: We know very little of the young man's family or circumstances, we can see ourselves in him. We all remember moments of fantasy-like love; feelings of strong attraction toward a person we barely know. We know what it is like to build someone up in our imagination. The narrator never moves beyond that place. He never acts, and he is filled with remorse because of it. Because Bond's narrator is a kind of "every man," it is easy for readers to empathize with him.