Module: | Setting & Atmosphere (Deoli Station)
Q3: Consider the following statements regarding the night train's routine halt at Deoli:
1. The train would halt at the Deoli platform for a full ten minutes before rushing on into the forests.
2. Despite the station's isolation, there were always a few coolies on the platform assisting the rare passengers.
3. The train's departure from Deoli was signaled by the sounding of a bell and the guard blowing his whistle.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
2. Despite the station's isolation, there were always a few coolies on the platform assisting the rare passengers.
3. The train's departure from Deoli was signaled by the sounding of a bell and the guard blowing his whistle.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
✅ Correct Answer: C
🎯 Quick Answer:
Statements 1 and 3 are correct, while Statement 2 is incorrect.Structural Breakdown: The train stops for exactly ten minutes.
During this time, the narrator notes that nobody ever got in or off, and there were never any coolies on the platform.
The departure sequence involves a bell sounding followed by the guard's whistle.
Historical/Related Context: The ten-minute halt serves as the crucial, narrow window of time for the narrator's brief, intense encounters with the basket-selling girl in subsequent parts of the story.
Causal Reasoning: Statement 2 is incorrect because Ruskin Bond explicitly writes that there were never any coolies on the platform, which underscores the complete lack of human traffic and commercial activity at this mysterious transit point.