Hooghly is the destination Devdas chooses for the next stage of his journey when, gravely ill, he decides that he and Dharmadas should go home first. The place enters the narrative as a concrete travel destination, reached by train, while Devdas’s worsening condition makes even getting home seem uncertain.

Role in the Journey

At the station, Dharmadas asks where he should buy tickets. Devdas considers the question and says they should go home first, leaving whatever comes afterward undecided. They buy tickets for Hooghly and board the train. The choice establishes Hooghly as their immediate destination, but the exchange offers no further description of the place or of what they expect to do there.

The Journey and Its Stakes

The train journey unfolds under the pressure of Devdas’s illness. Dharmadas stays close to him; before dusk, Devdas’s eyes sting and fever overtakes him again. He tells Dharmadas that he feels it may be difficult even to get home. Hooghly is thus linked to a fragile, unresolved return: the destination has been selected and the journey begun, but Devdas doubts whether he will reach home.