On the journey to his grandparents’ home in the North,
Ashoke brings only one
book—a collection of short stories by Nikolai Gogol that his grandfather had given him upon his graduation from high school. He reads his favorite story,
The Overcoat, laughing at the strange names suggested at its main character’s christening. Another passenger in his coach,
Ghosh, strikes up a conversation. He has just returned from Britain after two years because his wife was too homesick for India, and urges Ashoke to travel while he is still young and free. Ashoke replies that, with the aid of his books, he can travel anywhere.