“She was standing very close to me”- Whom does ‘she’ refer to? When and why was she standing very close to the narrator? What was the effect of her proximity to the narrator?

In the line mentioned above ‘she’ refers to the girl who was travelling with the narrator in the same train compartment.

When the engine’s whistle shrieked, the carriage wheels changed their sound and rhythm, the girl got up and began to collect her things as she was about to get off at Saharanpur station where her aunt was waiting for her. While this process was on she stood very close to the narrator. 

The girl stood so close to the narrator, that the perfume from her hair seemed enticing to the narrator. He even wished to raise his hand and touch her hair, but she moved away. Only the scent of perfume remained where she stood. This was the effect of her proximity to the narrator.

“The man who had entered the compartment broke into my reverie”- Whose reverie is referred to here? What was the reverie about? How was the reverie broken?


The reverie of the narrator is mentioned here. The reverie was about the brief encounter with the girl who boarded the train at Rohana. The narrator was daydreaming about his short and sweet interaction with the girl and how they exchanged thoughts on various topics like the beauty of the hills in October, the view of the landscape from the train’s window, etc. The narrator felt that the brief encounter would stay with him for a long time. The male passenger who boarded the train at Saharanpur broke into his reverie by saying that he is not nearly as attractive a travelling companion as the one who just left.