39 pages • 1 hour read
Khushwant SinghTrain to Pakistan
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1956A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Trains
Trains are the most important symbol in the novel, and changes in descriptions of trains reflect the changing tone of the novel. At the start, trains represent hope, life, and normality. The villager’s daily routine is determined by the train schedule. The know when to get up, have dinner, and go to bed depending on which train runs through the village. The railway station and the goods trains are an important part of the local economy. The first sign of trouble is when the trains begin running off-schedule, disrupting the lives of Mano Majra’s inhabitants. This is followed by the arrival of the first ghost train and its cargo of corpses, which brings into stark focus the horror of the conflict surrounding them. From this point on, trains become an object of fear. The deportation train that will carry their friends and loved ones away, possibly to their deaths, features heavily in the novel’s conclusion. It is only thanks to one character’s sacrifice that the train becomes a bittersweet symbol of hope.
The River
On the opposite side of the railway station is Mano Majra’s river. At the start of the book, it represents life, being a source of fresh water and a place for people to wash their clothes and get water for their crops. However, it also represents the fragility of their existence, as monsoon rains pose the risk of flooding, which is only held in check by a mud dam. In the story, the threat of flooding echoes the rising tension created in the village by the emergence of religious intolerance and an increased military presence. , The river is transformed from a symbol of life to one of death when the victims of a massacre begin washing up on the banks. The river represents the slow corruption of Mano Majra from within as the outside conflict transforms it from a place of peace and harmony to a site of conflict and violence.
Bangles
The bangles, which are thrown into Jugga’s yard at the beginning of the novel, factor in as a major motif in his personal struggle. The cheap baubles are intended as an insult by Malli, and are perceived as such by Jugga, who wanted to give them as a gift to Nooran. However, despite his initial disregard of them, they continue to haunt him throughout the novel. They are used as evidence against him when he is made a suspect in the murder of Lala Ram Lal, and while the village knows they aren’t his, they are used by the authorities to justify his continued imprisonment. He is unable to escape the bangles, much like he is unable to escape his father’s reputation and his own reputation as a dangerous man, even as he strives to make himself worthy of Nooran’s love.
