The theme of this frame story from Rabindranath Tagore can be summarized in the line adapted from Shakespeare’s Hamlet: There happen more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are reported in your newspapers. While waiting for a delayed train, a passenger talks about the time he stayed alone in a deserted, seemingly haunted palace. According to local legend, those who slept there either disappeared or went mad. Unfortunately, the train arrives before he discloses the palace’s secret. The narrator dismisses the story as a fabrication. His companion, who believes in the spirit world, disagrees. Theme: logic vs. the supernatural.
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