The Eyes Are Not Here - Ruskin Bond
'The Eyes Are Not Here
Ruskin Bond
Osmania University UG English I yr -Sem 1
(With effect from AY 2021-22)
Identify the instances from Ruskin Bond's story where the narrator tries to cover up his disability. How does the girl respond to his questions? ( Dec 23/Jan 2024)
Summary and Analysis.
'The Eyes Are Not Here' is a short story written by well-known children's writer and Indian author of British descent Ruskin. He was born on 19th May 1934 and lives in Missouri. His first novel 'The Room on the Roof' was received well by the readers. Bond created a fictional character named Rusty. His literary output includes a wide range of genres, including autobiographical works, novels, short stories, non-fiction, and children's literature.His popular books are Flight of Pigeons, The Blue Umbrella, Our trees still grow in Dehra. He received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1992 for the novel ‘Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra’. Roads to Mussoorie and All Roads lead to Ganga are his popular memoirs.The present story first appeared in Contemporary Indian Short Stories in English, edited by Shiv K. Kumar (1991).
The narrator complimented her, saying that she had an interesting face. She was not surprised by his comment, and she said many people praised her pretty face.
The narrator thought to himself that as soon as she left the train, she might forget the brief encounter. He would cherish these moments for the rest of the journey. He wondered if she wore her hair in a bun, plaited, hung loose, or cut short. He wondered if she wore her hair in a bun, plaited, hung loose, or cut short.
As soon as the girl got off the train, a man entered the compartment. The narrator inquired whether the girl kept her hair long or short. He said to the narrator that he had only noticed her beautiful eyes, but she was blind.
"She had beautiful eyes, but they were of no use to her, she was completely blind. Didn't you notice?"
The story's twist is that both the narrator and the girl are blind. They both tried to hide their blindness and pretended they had eyesight. They both fail to perceive each other as blind. Here, Bond presents the human limitations of perception.
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Short Answer Questions for internal exam
1.The narrator in the story ‘The Eyes are not Here's was born completely blind. Say True Or False.
Ans:- False.
In the story "The Eyes Are Not Here," the narrator was not born completely blind. He lost his sight later in life, as he mentions he could once see the world and remembers how things used to look.
2. What is the twist at the end of the story ‘The Eyes are not Here’
The twist in the story is that both the narrator and the girl are blind.
3.What did the narrator like about his travelling companion?
The sound of her voice
Where is the narrator traveling to in the story?
Answer: Dehra
Story
I had the compartment to myself up to Rohana, and then a girl got in. The couple who saw her off were
probably her parents; they seemed very anxious about her comfort, and the woman gave the girl detailed
instructions as to where to keep her things, not to lean out of windows, and how to avoid speaking to
strangers. They said their goodbyes; the train pulled out of the station.
As I was totally blind at the time, my eyes sensitive only to light and darkness, I was unable to tell what
the girl looked like; but I knew she wore slippers from the way they slapped against her heels. It would
take me some time to discover something about her looks, and perhaps I never would. I liked the sound
of her voice and even the sound of her slippers.
“Are you going all the way to Dehra?” I asked.
I must have been sitting in a dark corner because my voice startled her. She gave a little exclamation and
said, “I didn’t know anyone else was here.”
Well, it often happens that people with good eyesight fail to see what is right in front of them. They have
too much to take in, I suppose, whereas people who cannot see (or see very little) have to take in only
the essentials, whatever registers most tellingly in their remaining senses.
“I didn’t see you, either,” I said. “But I heard you come in.”
I wondered if I would be able to prevent her from discovering that I was blind. I thought to myself,
Provided I keep to my seat, it shouldn’t be too difficult.
The girl said, “I’m getting down at Saharanpur. My aunt is meeting me there.”
“Then I had better not get too familiar,” I said. “Aunts are usually formidable creatures.”
“Where are you going?” she asked.
“To Dehra, and then to Mussoorie.”
“Oh, how lucky you are, I wish I were going to Mussoorie. I love the hills. Especially in October.”
“Yes, this is the best time,” I said, calling on my memories. “The hills are covered with wild dahlias, the
sun is delicious, and at night you can sit in front of a log-fire and drink a little brandy. Most of the
tourists have gone, and the roads are quiet and almost deserted. Yes, October is the best time.”
She was silent, and I wondered if my words had touched her, or whether she thought me a romantic fool.
Then I made a mistake.
“What is it like?” I asked.
She seemed to find nothing strange in the question. Had she noticed already that I could not see? But her
next question removed my doubts.
“Why don’t you look out the window?” she asked.
I moved easily along the berth and felt for the window-ledge. The window was open and I faced it,
pretending to be studying the landscape. I heard the panting of the engine, the rumble of the wheels, and
in my mind’s eye, I could see the telegraph-posts flashing by.
“Have you noticed,” I ventured, “that the trees seem to be moving while we seem to be standing still?”
“That always happens,” she said. “Do you see any animals?” Hardly any animals left in the forests near
Dehra.
I turned from the window and faced the girl, and for a while we sat in silence.
“You have an interesting face,” I remarked. I was becoming quite daring, but it was a safe remark. Few
girls can resist flattery.
She laughed pleasantly, a clear ringing laugh.
“It’s nice to be told I have an interesting face. I am tired of people telling me I have a pretty face.”
Oh, so you do have a pretty face, I thought. Aloud, I said, “Well, an interesting face can also be pretty.”
“You are a very gallant young man,” she said, “but why are you so serious?”
I thought then, that I would try to laugh for her, but the thought of laughter only made me feel troubled
and lonely.
“We’ll soon be at your station,” I said.
“Thank goodness it’s a short journey. I can’t bear to sit in a train for more than two or three hours.”
Yet, I was prepared to sit there for almost any length of time, just to listen to her talking. Her voice had
the sparkle of a mountain stream. As soon as she left the train, I knew, she would forget our brief
encounter; but it would stay with me for the rest of the journey and for some time after.
The engine’s whistle shrieked, the carriage wheels changed their sound and rhythm. The girl got up and
began to collect her things. I wondered if she wore her hair in a bun, or if it was braided, or if it hung
loose over her shoulders, or if it was cut very short.
The train drew slowly into the station. Outside, there was the shouting of porters and vendors and a
high-pitched female voice near the carriage door, which must have belonged to the girl’s aunt.
“Good-bye,” said the girl.
She was standing very close to me, so close that the perfume from her hair was tantalizing. I wanted to
raise my hand and touch her hair, but she moved away, and only the perfume still lingered where she
had stood.
‘You may break, you may shatter the vase if you will, but the scent of the roses will linger there
still…”
There was some confusion in the doorway. A man, getting into the compartment, stammered an
apology. Then the door banged shut, and the world was shut out again. I returned to my berth. The guard
blew his whistle and we moved off. Once again, I had a game to play with a new fellow traveler.
The train gathered speed, the wheels took up their song, the carriage groaned and shook. I found the
window and sat in front of it, staring into the daylight that was darkness for me. So many things were
happening outside the window. It could be a fascinating game, guessing what went on out there.
The man who had entered the compartment broke into my reverie.
“You must be disappointed,” he said. “I’m not as attractive a traveling companion as the one who just
left.”
“She was an interesting girl,” I said. “Can you tell me – did she keep her hair long or short?”
“I don’t remember,” he said, sounding puzzled. “It was her eyes I noticed, not her hair. She had beautiful eyes – but they were of no use to her. She was completely blind; didn’t you notice?”
Glossary
to see off:- to go to an airport, station, etc. with someone who is beginning a journey and to bid goodbye
startle: to cause someone to be suddenly surprised, sometimes making them jump
register on: to have an effect (on a person); to be noticed or remembered
formidable: causing anxiety or fearful respect.
dahlia: a garden flower with a lot of brightly coloured petals
romantic fool: a highly imaginative person
pretence: an action or way of behaving that is intended to make people believe something that is not true
panting: the condition of being but of breath (here, the sound made by the train's engine is compared to the sound made by a person if he/she were out of breath).
venture: to make a statement in an uncertain or
hesitant manner.
flattery: excessive or Insincere praise.
gallant: a man politely attentive to women
tantalising :-causing temptation,
You may break... linger there still:- The narrator (mis) quotes the closing lines of the nineteenth- century poem 'Farewell' by the Irish writer Thomas Moore.
linger: to remain; to stay on.
stammer: to speak with difficulty, hesitating and repeating words or sounds.
reverie: a state of imagining or thinking about pleasant things, as in a dream.
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