The Night Train at Deoli – Short Story - By Ruskin Bond

 

The Night Train at Deoli – Short Story

 By Ruskin Bond

SUMMARY - Important Points

·         “The Night Train at Deoli” is a short story written by Ruskin Bond, a famous Anglo Indian writer. This is an interesting story about adolescent infatuation and romantic feelings of two youngsters.  

·         The narrator lives in Delhi. Every summer, he used to go to his grandmother’s place in Dehra by Train. The train goes through a small station called Deoli.  

·         When the narrator was eighteen years old, he was going to his grandmother’s place one summer. The train reached Deoli station at 5’o clock in the morning. There, he saw a poor young girl selling baskets. She was wearing a shawl. Her face was pale, hair was shining and eyes were black and attractive.  

·         The eyes of the young man met with the eyes of the girl. The young man got down the train and went to the tea stall on the platform. She went to him and asked to buy a basket. he finally bought one. He tenderly touched her hand while giving the money. When he went back to his compartment, the girl was looking at him and smiling as long as he could see her.  

·         During his return journey also, the young man met the girl. This time, they spoke a few words. The boy got an impulse to take the girl along with him to Delhi. But, he could not express his feelings.  

·         He said to her that he would come back again. The girl also expressed her love and interest through her looks and smile. The image of the girl’s face remained in the heart of the young man.  

·         The next summer, the young man did not find the girl at Deoli station. He could not get any information about her from the station master  and tea vendor.  

·         The young boy felt that the girl stole his heart. He was overwhelmed with the feeling of infatuation and tender love for that girl. He decided that he would one day get down at Deoli and search for that girl.  

·         Though the young man travelled many times through Deoli station, he did not dare to break his journey and enter into Deoli village. He feared that he may hear any bad news – she might have left the village, she might have been married, she might have fallen sick, etc.  

·         Thus, the story tells about the feelings of tender love during youth in a realistic manner.

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