The Night Train at Deoli by Ruskin Bond

The Night Train at Deoli

• The narrator spent his summer vacations in Dehra at his grandmother's place.
• Deoli was a small station about thirty miles from Dehra, marking the beginning of the Indian Terai's heavy jungles.
• The train stopped at Deoli at 5 am, when the station was dimly lit, and the jungle was barely visible in the faint light of dawn.
• Deoli had only one platform, an office for the stationmaster, and a waiting room, with a tea stall, fruit vendor, and stray dogs.

The Mysterious Girl

• A girl came down the platform selling baskets during one of the narrator's stops at Deoli.
• The girl was young, barefoot, and wore old clothes, but walked with grace and dignity.
• She had pale skin, shiny black hair, and dark, troubled eyes that met the narrator's gaze.
• The narrator felt a strong connection to the girl and wanted to find out more about her.

The Search for the Girl

• The narrator didn't get off the train at Deoli, but instead asked the station-master about the girl when he visited again.
• The station-master had been transferred, and the new one didn't know anything about the girl.
• The narrator then asked the owner of the tea stall, who remembered the girl but didn't know what happened to her.
• The narrator decided to break his journey at Deoli to find the girl, but never did, fearing what he might discover.

Reflections and Longing

• The narrator reflected on the experience, wondering what happened to the girl and why he was afraid to find out.
• He prefers to keep hoping and dreaming, looking out of the window at the lonely platform, waiting for the girl with the baskets.
• The narrator continues to pass through Deoli, but never breaks his journey there, preferring to maintain the mystery and his imagination.