The veranda, or den, at the children’s home represents the sense of safety and protection that familiar people, places, and things foster. The veranda, which is the children’s home base when they are playing hide and seek, contains a white pillar that they are trying to reach in order to win the game. But the veranda denotes safety in many ways—not only safety in the game (as returning to it makes one safe from being caught by the seeker) but also more tangible safety. The pillar is located just outside children’s home. Thus, it is a familiar structure and one that is near to their home and their parents, who truly keep them safe and protect them. The den thus symbolizes home and family more broadly, and the sense of comfort and security that these aspects of life provide. Desai puts the den in contrast with the shed in which Ravi hides, an unfamiliar place that inspires fear and a sense of being unsafe.
The Veranda / Den Quotes in Games at Twilight
With a whimper he burst through the crack, fell on his knees, got up and stumbled on stiff, benumbed legs across the shadowy yard, crying heartily by the time he reached the veranda so that when he flung himself at the white pillar and bawled, “Den! Den! Den!” his voice broke with rage and pity at the disgrace of it all and he felt himself flooded with tears and misery.
The Veranda / Den Symbol Timeline in Games at Twilight
