Describe the exchanges between Ruskin Bond and his last fellow-passenger on the train.

In Ruskin Bond’s short story ‘The Eyes Have It’, a man boarded the train at Saharanpur. The narrator continued to pretend to study the landscape. The new co-passenger broke into his reverie stating that perhaps the narrator was disappointed as he was not as attractive a travelling companion as the girl who had just left. In reply, the narrator remarked that she was an interesting girl and asked him if her hair was long or short. The man got puzzled hearing the question and said that it was her eyes that attracted his attention and not her hair. He mentioned that the girl’s eyes were very beautiful but they were of no use to her since she was completely blind. The narrator was very much shocked to learn this as he had conversed with the girl for so long yet was neither aware of it nor could guess it.



How was a game of deception played between the narrator and the girl?


During the course of the journey, the narrator interacted with the girl who boarded the train at Rohana. The narrator was attracted by the voice of the girl and conversed with her in such a way so that he could conceal the truth from her. The narrator pretended of studying the landscape and in reply to the girl’s question said that there were no animals near Dehra. The narrator even described the beauty of the hills in a detailed manner and commented on the girl’s face to be interesting. The girl also tried her hand in the art of deception and behaved quite normally during her interaction with the narrator. When asked by the narrator what it was like outside, she tactfully replied why did not the narrator look out of the window himself. Thus, in this way both the narrator and the girl played the game of deception.


Would you agree that this story is a comment on ‘seeing’? Support your point with instances from the text.

With the help of this text, how does the author prove that the mind’s eye is more powerful than our natural eyes?


There are certain hints in ‘The Eyes Have it that tell you that the narrator felt infatuated with the girl in the train. Elucidate the hints from your reading of the short story.

Discuss the character of the narrator in brief.

Comment on the ending of the story ‘The Eyes Have It’.


Why do you think the autobiographical piece has been aptly entitled ‘Strong Roots’? Justify your answer.

Write how Abdul Kalam presents his father in his autobiographical writing ‘Strong Roots’.


How does the author describe his mother?

“We lived in our ancestral house,”- Who is the speaker? When was the house built? What kind of house was it? How did the inmates of the house lead their lives in the house?


“Our locality was predominantly Muslim,”—Who is the speaker? How does the speaker describe the locality? What picture of communal harmony do you find in this description?

“I normally ate with my mother.”-Who ate with his mother? Name his mother. Where did he eat with his mother? What did he eat with his mother?


“When my father came out of the mosque after the prayers, people of different religions would be sitting outside, waiting for him.” – What would usually happen when Kalam’s father came out of the mosque after the prayers? Why did the people of different religions wait for the narrator’s father? When would his father smile and ask people to thank Allah?

“Why don’t you say this to the people who come to you…?”-Who says this and to whom? What is referred to by the word ‘this’? Why do the people come to the person spoken to?


“This is not a correct approach at all…”—Who said this? What is the approach’? Why is the approach not correct?

“One must understand the difference between a fear-ridden vision of destiny and the vision that enables us to seek the enemy of fulfilment within ourselves.”-What do you mean by “.. fear-ridden vision of destiny”? What is the other vision? Which is to be preferred and why?


What kind of a childhood did APJ Abdul Kalam have?

How did Kalam’s father function as a religious healer? How much successful was he?