“The Night Train at Deoli” is a true story inspired by the author’s own life. The story is about a small station called Deoli, 30 miles from Dehra, where the narrator’s grandmother lives. The author spent every summer vacation at his grandmother’s home in Dehra.
The Night Train At Deoli By Ruskin Bond
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Summary of The Night Train at Deoli in English By Ruskin Bond
The novel “The Night Train at Deoli,” written by the renowned Anglo-Indian author Ruskin Bond, was first published in 1988. The narrator of this novel, Ruskin Bond, shares his train experiences throughout the book. Every summer, the narrator visits his grandmother’s home for an errand. On his way, he encounters a small railway station called Deoli.
His grandmother’s home is in Dehra, thirty miles from Deoli. Strangely, when the train stops at Deoli for ten minutes, no one gets on or gets on.
Whenever the narrator arrives at Deoli station, he feels very strange because of the dense forest surrounding it. As summer approaches, he goes to his grandmother’s home and, as usual, passes by Deoli station, where he notices a poor girl selling baskets at the station, wearing nothing on her feet in such a cold place.
The narrator noticed the girl’s shiny hair and captivating eyes, which he found very striking. A girl notices the narrator staring at her, but initially ignores her. After a while, she approaches him and asks if he would like to buy a basket made of fine wood. The narrator initially refuses, but the girl’s persistent efforts force him to buy the basket.
Afterward, the narrator arrives at his grandmother’s house, but he cannot sleep during the train journey because he is still thinking about the girl who has now become a part of his memories. After spending two months at his grandmother’s house, he returns home and, as usual, passes by Deoli station. He sees the girl with the basket again, and they talk for a while, as if they were childhood friends.
During their conversation, a girl and the narrator appear very happy, as they haven’t forgotten their last meeting, which took place two months ago when the narrator was visiting his grandmother. The narrator holds the girl’s hand and requests her to come to Delhi, but she declines, saying they’ll meet again soon. He tells her, “I’ll be back at this station soon. Will you come to see me again?”
The girl doesn’t say yes or no, bids him goodbye, and goes on to sell her basket. As the story progresses, we learn that the narrator is about to complete his graduation and decides to visit his grandmother again. But we all know why the narrator is going to Dehra, where he loves the girl with the basket. The narrator leaves for Dehra, and when the train passes through Deoli, he stops at the station to meet the girl, but she’s nowhere to be found. He asks some locals about the girl, who tell him that a girl has stopped coming to the station.
He leaves for Dehra, but is still thinking about the girl with the basket because he loves her appearance and memories. When the narrator returns from his grandmother’s house, he searches for the girl once again, but he cannot find her anywhere and eventually decides to move on.
The gist of the story is that people come and go and that is life, but we should never mourn for them because it only brings us pain.
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