The Tunnel by Ruskin Bond | Themes, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. 'The Tunnel' is a short story written by Ruskin Bond that was included in his novella titled The Road to the Bazaar and was first published in 1980. The subtitle of the story is ‘Calmness in Commotion.’ The story is based on the themes of curiosity, friendship, dedication, innocence, care and respect. The short story, The Tunnel, is placed in the foothills of the Himalayas, where train passing is possible. Some distance from Dehradun lies a small village, and some distance from that village, up in the hills, through the forest, goes a railway line. The railway line has one tunnel.

The story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator who talks about a teenage boy and his experiences with a railway watchman.

Characters of The Tunnel

Ranji is a teenage boy who is very curious about nature and surroundings. He is an innocent yet brave child. Ranji is very fascinated by trains. He travels from his home to the countryside to look at the train pass. Watching trains move past him appears to be his favorite source of enjoyment. Kishan is a forty-five-year-old man who is the protagonist of the story. He works as a watchman for the railways and shoulders the duty of inspecting and taking care of a tunnel through which the trains pass. Kishan lives in a small hut and he loves and respects nature, the jungle, and its inhabitants, including the wild animals. Kishan is a very honest man devoted to his responsibility of inspecting the tunnel to safeguard both humans and forest inhabitants.

Summary of The Tunnel:

Ranji is a teenage boy who lives in a small town. He likes to watch moving trains and would often visit the nearby village to witness the steam engine come out blazing through the tunnel. One day, while walking through the village, he meets the railway's watchman appointed to take care of the tunnel who lives in a small hut near the tunnel. Ranji feels an exciting sense of freshness at his hut which is surrounded by margold flowers and a vegetable garden.

Being curious enough, Ranji develops a rapport with Kishan who appears to be friendly. Kishan advises him about the life in jungle and the probable dangers that one may come across. Ranji learns that Kishan deeply loves and respects nature, the jungle, and its inhabitants. Ranji asks him how he manages to live alone in the jungle to which Kishan answers that he prefers the company of the animals in the jungle to the people he might encounter in town. Kishan mentions how he was robbed and fooled by a pick-pocket once he visited the town and since then he preferred to avoid going to the town as he feels safer in the jungle than being around other men.

Kishan tells him that he must inspect the tunnel twice a day. Two trains, one at day, the second one at night pass through that tunnel. He must make the tunnel clear of manageable obstacles like small stones or wild animals. For the day train, he waves a red flag if he finds anything objectionable in the tunnel. At night, he waves the lantern if something is wrong in the tunnel. If everything is fine, he does nothing and relaxes in his small hut.

Ranji learns that Kishan deeply likes and respects the jungle and nature and it is for this reason he feels safe in the jungle. Kishan tells him that he does not bother the animals in the jungle as he is a visitor to their home. Kishan says that he not only safeguards humans traveling in the train by making sure that the tunnel is free from any obstacle but also, he protects the wild animals that may stray away on the railway track in the tunnel. He mentions how he once saved a leopard who got stuck in the tunnel while a train was about to pass through it. Kishan says that he took an axe with him as he couldn’t trust that the leopard wouldn’t attack him but it was his duty to ensure that the leopard was not killed by the train.

Ranji learns a lot from Kishan who appears to be a gentle teacher to him. Ranji notices that nature like society has its rules but unfortunately, man does not like to adhere to the rules of nature. Preferring instead to put himself at the top of the food chain with total disregard for other animals. This is unlike Kishan who not only respects his environment but also knows his place in it. However, he is not a foolish man and knows that he cannot trust all animals and as such he has an axe to protect himself.

Another important lesson that Ranji learns is the fact that the life he lives in town may be more dangerous than living a life in the jungle. The story of Kishan and how he was robbed by a pick-pocket in the town allows Ranji to wonder if the modern life in the town is better than the calm life in the jungle. As time passes by, Ranji notices that the sun is setting down. He enjoys the nightlife of the forest call of a barking deer, the cry of a fox, the quaint tonk-tonk of a nightjar, the rhythmic sawing sound of a leopard cutting through the trees. Anyhow, Ranji returns safely to his home in the town.

A week later when Ranji is traveling to Delhi with his father on the night train, he tries to make out the old man and his lantern and his hut, and soon he sees the lantern hanging outside the hut which means he has done his duty of checking the tunnel and retired for the night. Ranji feels gratitude for the watchman who strictly follows his duty for the sake of others and trains in which thousands of passengers exist.

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