How could the narrator talk to the girl and answer her questions so confidently in spite of being blind?

In Ruskin Bond’s short story ‘The Eyes Have It’, the narrator could talk to the girl and answer her questions so confidently because the lack of vision, had made his other sense organs much more active. This potential of his helped him to interpret, analyse and comprehend the world around him. Besides, the narrator had a great zest for life which made his words sound lively and interesting. Lastly, he was very familiar with the hill stations of Dehra, Mussoorie and the adjoining areas. He knew so much about these places that he could answer the girl’s questions correctly and without any doubt.

Describe the girl as visualized by the narrator.


The girl caught the narrator’s attention from the moment he heard her parents instructing her to be precautious about various things as she was travelling alone. Though the narrator was blind yet he visualized the girl from the sounds he heard. He sensed that she wore slippers from the slapping sound of those against her heels. The narrator was also mesmerized by her voice which he described to be like the sparkle of a mountain stream. He wondered how the girl’s hair was dressed, in buns, plaits or was the hair hanging loose over her shoulders or cut very short. The perfume from her hair allured him so much that he wanted to raise his hand and touch her hair. The scent of the perfume remained in the compartment even after the girl boarded off the train.


Describe the parting of the girl from the narrator on the train.

What was the chain of thoughts that ran through the narrator’s mind when the train approached the station? How was it affected by the man’s conversation?


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

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


Though the narrator was visually impaired yet he was very sensitive Discuss with examples from the text.

Does the author help us anticipate the ironical twist in the end during the course of the narrative? If yes, give examples from the text to support your argument.


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?