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) 

'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 story is told from the first person point of view. The narrator was a young man traveling to Dehra, and then to Mussorie by train. A girl got into the compartment. Due to his blindness, he was unable to accurately describe her. He liked her voice and the sound of her slippers. The girl said that she would get down in Sharanpur. The man wanted to hide his 

handicap from the girl. In their conversation, the girl mentions visiting Mussorie in October because it's the best time. The narrator recollects his memories of spending time in hills covered with dahlias and sitting in front of a log fire at night.Upon being asked by the girl, he moves to the window, pretending to enjoy the beautiful landscape. 

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.