How did the narrator try to prevent the girl from discovering that he was blind?

The narrator in Ruskin Bond’s short story The Eyes Have It’ made various attempts to prevent the girl from discovering that he was blind. He gave a beautiful description of Mussoorie in October, the month when the girl expressed her desire to go there. Throughout the journey, he did not leave his seat. However, he made a mistake by asking her what could be seen from the train window but immediately managed the situation by pretending to look outside. He also said that the trees seem to be moving while they seem to be stationary. He answered confidently that no animals were seen outside when asked by the girl. Towards the end of her journey, he told the girl that she had an interesting face. These were the attempts made by the narrator to prevent the girl from getting to know that he was blind.

Is the narrator somewhat cautious about not revealing too much about himself? Support your point with instances from the text.

The narrator in Ruskin Bond’s short story ‘The Eyes Have It tried his best not to let out the fact that he was blind. He kept to his seat throughout the journey to prevent his blindness from getting revealed. He gave a vivid description of the beauty of Mussoorie in October, the hills covered with wild dahlias, the pleasant sun, drinking brandy in front of a log fire at night and the quiet deserted roads. He also pretended to look out of the window and remarked that the trees appeared to move while they seemed to be standing still. He also answered confidently that there were no animals outside when asked by the girl. When another man boarded the compartment at Saharanpur, the narrator kept staring out of the open window through daylight was darkness to him. These instances clearly prove that the narrator was too cautious about hiding his blindness from others.


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

Describe the girl as visualized by the narrator.


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?