Expository paragraph on Night Train at Deoli (1988)
By Ruskin Bond in 350 to 500 words
Answers
Answer:
Explanation:
When I was at college I used to spend
my summer vacations in Dehra, at my
grandmother’s place. I would leave the
plains early in May and return in July.
Deoli was small station about thirty miles
from Dehra1; it marked the beginning of the
heavy jungles of the Indian Terai2.
The train would reach Deoli at about
five in the morning, when the station
would be dimly lit with electric bulbs and
oil lamps, and the jungle across the
railway tracks would just be visible in
the faint light of dawn. Deoli had only
one platform, an office for the station
master and a waiting room. The platform
boasted a tea stall, a fruit vendor, and a
few stray dogs; not much else, because the
train stopped there only ten minutes
before rushing on into the forests.
Why it stopped at Deoli, I don’t
know. Nothing ever happened there. Nobody
got off the train and nobody
got in. There were never any
coolies3 on the platform. But
the train would halt there a
full ten minutes, and then a
bell would sound, the guard
would blow his whistle, and
presently Deoli would be left
behind and forgotten.
I used to wonder what
happened in Deoli, behind the
station walls. I always felt
sorry for that lonely little
platform and for the place that
nobody wanted to visit. I
decided that one day I would get off the train at Deoli, and spend the day
there, just to please the town.
1 both localities are in Himachal Pradesh, a state in northern India (bordered by Punjab,
Kashmir, Jammu, and Tibet)
2 south of the outer foothills of the Himalayas
3 unskilled native laborer in India (now considered an offensive term, though Bond intends
it here to be merely descriptive)
Ruskin Bond
born 1934
Great Northern Railway (1950s)
2
I was eighteen, visiting my
grandmother, and the night train
stopped at Deoli. A girl came down
the platform, selling baskets.
It was a cold morning and the
girl had a shawl thrown across her
shoulders. Her feet were bare and her
clothes were old, but she was a young
girl, walking gracefully and with
dignity.
When she came to my window, she
stopped. She saw that I was looking
at her intently, but at first she
pretended not to notice. She had pale
skin, set off by shiny black hair,
and dark, troubled eyes. And then
those eyes, searching and eloquent,
met mine.
She stood by my window for some
time and neither of us said anything.
But when she moved on, I found myself
leaving my seat and going to the
carriage door, and stood waiting on
the platform, looking the other way.
I walked across to the tea stall
A kettle was boiling over on a small
fire, but the owner of the stall was busy serving tea somewhere on the
train. The girl followed me behind the stall.
‘Do you want to buy a basket?’ she asked. ‘They are very strong, made
of the finest cane...’
‘No,’ I said, ‘I don’t want a basket.’
We stood looking at each other for what seemed a very long time, and
she said, ‘Are you sure you don’t want a basket?’
‘All right, give me one,’ I said, and I took the one on top and gave
her a rupee4, hardly daring to touch her fingers.
As she was about to speak, the guard blew his whistle; she said
something, but it was lost in the clanging of the bell and the hissing of
the engine. I had to run back to my compartment. The carriage shuddered and
jolted forward.
I watched her as the platform slipped away. She was alone on the
platform and she did not move, but she was looking at me and smiling. I
watched her until the signal box came in the way, and then the jungle hid
the station, but I could still see her standing there alone...
I sat up awake for the rest of the journey. I could not rid my mind
of the picture of the girl’s face and her dark, smouldering eyes.
4 basic monetary unit of India
vendors at Indian railway station
(early 20th century)
3
But when I reached Dehra the incident became blurred and distant for
there were other things to
occupy my mind. It was
only when I was making the
return journey, two months
later, that I remembered
the girl.
I was looking out
for the girl as the train
drew into the station, and
I felt an unexpected
thrill when I saw her
walking up the platform. I
sprang off the footboard
and waved to her.
When she saw me, she
smiled. She was pleased
that I remembered her. I
was pleased that she
remembered me. We were both pleased, and it was almost like a meeting of
old friends.
She did not go down the length of the train selling baskets, but came
straight to the tea stall; her dark eyes were suddenly filled with light.
We said nothing for some time but we couldn’t have been more eloquent.
I felt the impulse to put her on the train there and then, and take
her away with me; I could not bear the thought of having to watch her
recede into the distance of Deoli station. I took the baskets from her hand
and put them down on the ground. She put out her hand for one of them, but
Answer:
"The Night at Deoli" is written by Ruskin Bond.
Explanation:
When travelling to Dehra Dun, the narrator comes across a homeless basket salesman and falls in love with him. The girl only appears to him twice and he never sees her again, but he will always remember her.
The meeting of the two strangers and their brief friendship is the main focus of the narrative. With its unbridled suspense and overwhelming romance, it perfectly captures the essence of a few fleeting seconds.
The narrative is set in Deoli, a little station where the train would stop for a moment before continuing on into the dense jungles of the Indian Terai area,opens with the 18-year-old protagonist telling the reader about an incident that happened during one of his frequent visits to his grandmother's house during his college.
At around five in the morning, the train would arrive at Deoli station and stop for around 10 minutes. The atmosphere of the tiny railway station, which had just one platform and was dimly lit with oil lamps and electric bulbs, is vividly described by the narrator.
The jungle across the railway tracks could only be made out in the early morning glimmer. Nobody ever boarded or exited the train in this location.
The narrator was curious as to what went on inside the stations' walls and felt terrible for the small community that no one seemed to take any interest in.
He was quite interested in the location and captivated by the secrets that lay beyond it; he hoped to someday explore it.
A little girl selling cane baskets caught his attention when he first saw her at Deoli station. Although she was not dressed elaborately, the narrator was charmed by her beautiful walk and dignified appearance.
She had beautiful black hair, pale skin, and deep, expressive eyes. Even though she feigned not to notice, their eyes met as he stared at her carefully.