OU Degree 1st Sem English – The Eyes are Not Here Questions and Answers & Summary
Comprehension – I
Answer the following questions in 80-100 words.
Question 1.
What did the narrator like about his travelling companion?
Answer:
The narrator was unable to tell what the girl (his travelling companion) looked like. However, he liked the sound of her voice. He also liked the sound of her slippers when they slapped against her heels.
Question 2.
Compare how the narrator and his new passenger each form an impression of the girl.
Answer:
The narrator and his new travelling companion form diametrically opposite impression of the girl. The narrator feels that the young girl passenger is not blind and she is as normal as any other young girls. Though he can’t see her face due to his blindness, he likes the sound of her voice and even the sound of her slippers slapping against her heels.
He tries to touch her hair when she is about to depart. Moreover, the narrator throughout the story tries to cover up his disability. In the contrast, the new travelling companion is not blind and is able to notice the girl’s eyes, not her hair when she is leaving the compartment. He also finds the truth that she is completely blind.
Question 3.
Describe what happens when the girl gets off the train.
Answer:
When the girl gets off the train, the narrator feels the perfume of her hair from the place where she has just stood. He also observes a new fellow-traveller has entered the compartment. And the new passenger is a man who stammers an apology to the narrator since he is in the doorstep.
Question 4.
Why do you think the narrator tries to trick people into believing he can see?
Answer:
The narrator tries to trick people into believing that he can see. It is because he feels that it could be a fascinating game to play, guessing what goes on out there, when one is blind and not able to see. The narrator wondered if he would be able to prevent the girl from discovering his blindness. And therefore, he prefers to sit in a dark corner in the compartment. When the girl passenger asks him to look out of the window, he faces the window, making presence of studying the landscape.
Question 5.
How does the girl respond to the narrator’s questions?
Answer:
When ever the narrator asks the girl any question, she responds not in a usual manner. For example, when the narrator asks if she is going to Dehra, she replies that she has not found anyone else is present there. It means she does not see the narrator. However, she does not reveal about her blindness explicitly, she replies that she is getting down at Saharanpur.
Her description of Mussoorie makes the narrator believe that she is a normal girl, not blind. The narrator asks her if she has noticed that trees seem to be moving while they seem to be standing still. She replies that such feeling always happens. Therefore the girl’s responses to the narrator’s questions indicate that she does not reveal her blindness and answers in a normal way.
Comprehension – II
Answer the following questions In 350 – 400 words.
Question 1.
What are the instances In the story where ¡t is evident that both the narrator and the girl are blind? How do they try to mislead each other? Do they succeed?
Answer:
Ruskin Bond’s story ‘The Eyes are Not Here’ (also known as ‘The Girl on the Train’ and ‘The Eyes Have it’ is a deeply touching story about two co-passengers in a train who are both blind and do not realize that the other is also blind. The irony lies in the fact that the narrator of the story learns that his co-passenger is blind only after she has got off the train. There is pathos and irony in the situation and Bond offers us the irony in the ending, adding to the effect of the whole story on the reader.
The narrator of the story loves to pretend that he is not blind. He develops this habit since he has lost his sight.The narrator also loves talking to people in the train. So, when new members enter the train he is very happy to get a new member to talk to. He loves to hear about them and also plays the game of concealing his blindness with a new fellow traveller. So many things are happening outside the window.
It could be a fascinating game, guessing what goes on out there. Therefore the narrator loves guessing what is happening outside the window and playing this guessing game with his fellow travellers. The narrator meets the girl on a train journey. Her parents who come to see her off seem anxious about her comfort. She tells the narrator that she would be received by her aunt at Saharanpur. the destination of her journey.
When he tells her that he is going to Mussoorie, they exchange their views about that place. The narrator takes care not to reveal his disability to the girl. He does this by making only general remarks which are safe. The narrator does not allow the girl to know that he is blind. He does not get too familiar with her.
He moves easily along the berth and feels for the window ledge and faces the open window and pretends that he is studying the landscape. He tells her that the trees are moving while they are standing still. When the girl says that she knows about it and enquires about animals, he changes the topic and tells her she has an interesting face. In this way, the narrator tries to impress the girl by pretending he is not blind.
Like the narrator, the girl too is blind and is pretending to be able to see. She attempts to keep it from the narrator and is smarter in keeping her blindness from the narrator. Probably, she doesn’t want to give away with her blindness for her own safety, a safety for a blind young girl who could be easily targeted by someone on a train.
The girl’s parents give her detailed instructions as to where to keep her things. They seem to be very anxious about her comfort since she is travelling alone. She has not seen the narrator in the compartment and has only started to hear his voice. She becomes silent when he gives a vivid description of Mussoorie probably because she is deprived of such visual pleasure. She does not find it strange when the narrator asks her what the view outside the window is like.
She asks him if he looks out of the window and sees any animals outside. When she is stepping out of the window, there is some confusion in the doorway and the man who is entering stammered an apology. These hints point to the girl’s disability but the blind narrator does not notice anything.
When the girl gets off the train at her station, another man gets into his compartment. The new fellow passenger then apologizes to the narrator too for not being as attractive a traveling companion as the previous one. When the narrator asks him how the girl has worn her hair, the other person replies that he has not noticed her hair but only seen her eyes, which are beautiful but of no use to her, as she is completely blind. The last question this man asks to the narrator is if he has not noticed it too. The story ends with the narrator resuming his game of posing as a person with sight.
Question 2.
Several times in the conversation, the narrator tries to cover up his disability. Identify these instances and comment on them.
Answer:
The Eyes Are Not Here (also known as ‘The Girl on the Train’ & ‘The Eyes Have It’) is a short story by Ruskin Bond. It was originally published in Contemporary Indian English Stories. The narrator of this story is a blind man and his eyes are sensitive to light and darkness. He is going to Dehradun by train when he meets a girl and has a chit-chat with her. He tries to conceal to the girl about his blindness and plays a fascinating game of covering up his disability.
It is only after she has left and another fellow passenger comes into the compartment reveals the truth that the narrator realizes the girl is blind. In Ruskin Bond’s story ‘The Eyes are Not Here’, the narrator explains that he is totally blind at the time, only able to see light and dark, and so he could not tell what the girl looks like, but he very much likes her voice. When the girl enters the train and wonders if there is anyone in the compartment, he responds. “I didn’t see you either.
But I heard you come in.” The narrator starts to like the girl from the very beginning of their journey together. He is captivated by the sound of her voice and her slippers. The fascinated narrator even describes the voice of the girl to have the sparkle of a mountain stream. The narrator decides to see if he can prevent her from discovering that he is blind.
However, there are several times in the conversation, the narrator tries to cover up his disability. They talk about where each of them is going, and he tries to get her to describe the scenery outside, though she likely assumes he’s asking about what it’s like to be blind.
The narrator makes a mistake of asking the girl, “What is it like?” It means that what it is like outside the train. The speaker thinks he has made a mistake, as it is unusual of people with proper eyesight to ask such a question. The speaker is afraid that the girl may discover the truth that he is blind.
When the girl asks the speaker why he himself does not see outside the window, the narrator’s doubts are cleared. Though the girl’s question, “why don’t you look out of the window” has almost dispelled the narrator’s fears that the girl has discovered his blindness, he goes on pretending to be really sighted. in order to establish his lie more firmly, the speaker moves easily along the berth and feels for the window ledge. He faces the open window, and remarks that trees appear to be moving while they sit in the train. When he sees that it is a silly, childish remark which would have given him away, he goes on affirming that there are no animal on the hills.
She is pleased when he tells her that she has an interesting face because, she says, she’s tired of hearing that she has a pretty face. When the train stops, he knows she’ll forget their encounter, but he feels he will remember it forever. He smells the perfume of her perfume just as she is getting up to leave. He also hears some confusion in the doorway. Presumably, this is caused by her inability to see another young man waiting to enter the compartment. It is only when the new fellow male passenger tells the narrator about the girl’s blindness is the narrator able to understand the irony of life.
Question 3.
The narrator is an imaginative person. Support this assertion by providing evidence that is unconnected to the girl on the train.
Answer:
The Eyes Are Not Here (also known as The Girl on the Train and The Eyes Have It) is a short story by Ruskin Bond. It was originally published in Contemporary Indian English Stories. The narrator of the story is a blind man and is highly imaginative in his dealing with other people, especially when he plays the game of concealing his blindness.
Blindness has made the narrator sensitive to minute things in his surroundings. As he says, lack of sight makes the other four senses more acute. He likes to play guessing games about the people and places around him.
Though he seems to take his disability philosophically, the presence of the girl makes the youth in him want to keep it a secret. His description of Mussoorie shows him as a nature-lover. He makes sense 6f things by giving an imaginative colour to the hints dropped by people and knowledge gained through the other four senses.
The narrator sits by a girl who he enjoys speaking to, but he cannot see her and wonders what she looks like. He tells her she has an interesting face, which she says she hears often. Ironically he is unable to see the young woman’s face. He likes the sound of her voice which he feels has the sparkle of a mountain stream. He is also able to identify the girl’s slipper by hearing their sound slapping against her heels.
According to the narrator. October is the best time to visit Mussoorie and the bills. In October, the hills are covered with wild dahlias, the sunshine becomes pleasant arid at night one can sit in front of a log fire and drink a little brandy. The roads become quiet and deserted as the tourist season gets over. When she responds with silence to his emotional description of Mussoorie, the narrator is afraid that she would think of him as a ‘romantic fool’. He learns from her that she is considered to be pretty.
When the girl asks him why he does not look out the window, he faces the window and makes the presence of studying the landscape. He hears the panting of the engine, the rumble of the wheels, and in his mind’s eye, he could see the telegraph posts flashing by. He also asks the girl if she has noticed that the trees seem to be moving while they (the passengers) seem to be standing. Finally, he is able to smell her hair’s perfume lingering on when she leaves the compartment.
From the reading of Bond’s story, we can realize that the narrator is a highly imaginative person, even though he is blind. Despite being physically challenged, the narrator has the ability to life a full and varied life. Something that is noticeable by the fact he is travelling on his own.
The Eyes are Not Here Poem Summary in English
Ruskin Bond (born in 1934) is a noted Indian writer in English. He completed his first novel, The Room on the Roof, when he was 17, and was awarded the John Liewellyn Rhys Memorial Prize for it. Since then he has published more than a hundred books that include novellas, short story collections, poetry, essays. and anthologies of selected writing. He spent most of his Childhood in Shimla and Dehradun.
These places provide the background for many of his short stories. He was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1992 and the Padmashri in 1999, and later the Padma Bhushan for his contribution to children’s literature.
Ruskin Bond’s story ‘The Eyes are Not Here’ (also known as ‘The Girl on the Train’ and The Eyes Have It’ is a deeply touching story about two co-passengers in a train who are both blind and do not realize that the other is also blind. The irony lies in the fact that the narrator of the story learns that his co-passenger is blind only after she has got off the train. There is pathos and irony in the situation and the author offers us the irony in the ending, adding to the effect of the whole story on the reader.
The narrator is a young blind man and is travelling alone in the compartment till Rohana. Then a young girl boards the train and her parents who come to the station to send her off give her certain instructions about her traveling on a train. As the train chugs out of the station, the narrator sitting opposite her by the window side strikes conversation with her.
She politely replies to all his questions and he shows off as he is not a blind chap. First they talk about nature and the narrator in between compliments that she has a beautiful face. Upon this, the girl says that this is a very common remark she often gets. The train is bound for Dehradun. The girl says that she will get down at Saharanpur where an aunt of her coming to receive her.
The girl feels envious when the narrator says that he is going to Mussoorie. The girl loves to be in the mountains. At Saharanpur she gets down, next a male passenger boards the train. The new passenger says that it would be disappointing be him (for the narrator) as he is not that beautiful like the previous passenger. The blind man asks about the girl’s hair, the new passenger says that her eyes are beautiful but useless as she is blind. This revelation almost shocks the narrator and he laughs on the coincidence.
The main themes of the story are kindness, independent nature and of course desire. In fact, the prominent theme in the story is desire’, because both persons are blind but still they pretend as if they were full-sighted and enjoy the colours of life like other normal people. Another great aspect is independent nature of both th characters, as both are blind but they are traveling alone, thus it shows how brave they are on practical grounds.
Kindness is reflective through their conversations, as they both are strangers to each other, but still talk like they know each other for years. It shows how humble both characters are. Despite all themes, the biggest theme of the story is irony of fates. Both people blind but it never comes out. This is classic stuff by Ruskin Bond.
Ruskin Bond’s story is a deeply touching story about two co-passenger in a train who are both blind and do not realise that the other is also blind. The title is appropriate because here in this story the two main characters-the narrator and fellow passenger- both are blind. The irony of the story lies in the fact that the narrator of the story learns that his co-passenger is blind only after she has got off the train. So. the title is really appropriate for this story.
The story is full of ironical turns and twists. There is a real humour In the narrator’s attempt to conceal his blindness. But this humour takes an ironical turn when he discovers that the girl is also blind. It shows Ruskin Bond’s sympathy for the blind and for their troubles and loneliness. Through the personal experience of the blind narrator Bond focuses on universal human experiences. It shows Bond’s mastery in the art of characterization. Like the great French master Maupassant Bond also chooses common people to create interesting situations.
The Eyes are Not Here Poem Summary in Telugu
రస్కిస్ బాండ్ (జననం 1934) ఆంగ్లంలో ప్రసిద్ధ భారతీయ రచయిత. అతను 17 సంవత్సరాల వయస్సులో తన మొదటి నవల, ది రూమ్ ఆన్ ది రూఫ్ను పూర్తి చేస్తారు మరియు దానికి జాన్ లెవెల్లిన్ రైస్ మెమోరియల్ పైజ్ను అందుకున్నాడు. అప్పటి నుండి అతను నవలలు, చిన్న కథల సంకలనాలు, కవితలు, వ్యాసాలు మరియు ఎంచుకున్న రచనల సంకలనాలను కలిగి ఉన్న వందకు పైగా పుస్తకాలను ప్రచురించారు.
అతను తన చిన్నతనంలో ఎక్కువ భాగం సిమ్లా మరియు డై్రాడూన్లో గడిపాడు. ఈ ప్రదేశాలు అతని అనేక చిన్న కథలకు నేపథ్యాన్ని అందిస్తాయి. బాలసాహిత్యానికి ఆయన చేసిన కృషికి గాను 1992 లో ‘సాహిత్య అకాడమీ అవార్డు, 1999 లో పద్మశ్రీ, ఆ తర్వాత పద్మభూషణ్ అవార్డులు అందుకున్నారు.
రస్కిస్ బాండ్ కథ ‘ది ఐస్ ఆర్ నాట్ హియర్’ (దీనిని ‘ది గర్ల్ ఆన్ ది టైన్’ మరియు ‘ది ఐస్ హావ్ ఇట్’ అని కూడా పిలుస్తారు) రైలులోని ఇద్దరు సహ-ప్రయాణికుల గురించిన ఒక లోతైన హత్తుకునే కథ. మరొకరు కూడా అంధుడు అని. వ్యంగ్యం ఏమిటంటే, ఆమె రైలు దిగిన తర్వాతే తన సహ-ప్రయాణికుడు అంధుడని కథ కథకుడికి తెలుస్తుంది. పరిస్థితిలో పాథోస్ మరియు వ్యంగ్యం ఉంది మరియు రచయిత మాకు ముగింపులో వ్యంగ్యాన్ని అందిస్తారు, ఇది మొత్తం కథ యొక్క ప్రభావాన్ని పాఠకుడిపై జోడిస్తుంది.
కథకుడు అంధుడైన యువకుడు మరియు రోహనా వరకు కంపార్ట్మెంట్లో ఒంటరిగా ప్రయాణిస్తున్నాడు. ఆ తర్వాత ఒక యువతి రైలు ఎక్కింది మరియు ఆమెను పంపించడానికి స్టేషన్కు వచ్చిన ఆమె తల్లిదండ్రులు ఆమె రైలులో ప్రయాణించడం గురించి ఆమెకు కొన్ని సూచనలు ఇస్తారు.
రైలు స్టేషన్ నుండి బయటకు వెళుతుండగా, కిటికీ పక్కన ఆమె ఎదురుగా కూర్చున్న కథకుడు ఆమెతో మాట్లాడుతున్నాడు. ఆమె అతని ప్రశ్నలన్నింటికీ మర్యాదపూర్వకంగా ప్రత్యుత్తరం ఇస్తుంది మరియు అతను అంధుడు కాదని చూపుతాడు. మొదట వారు ప్రకృతి గురించి మరియు ఆమె అందమైన ముఖం కలిగి ఉన్నారని పొగడ్తల మధ్య వ్యాఖ్యాత గురించి మాట్లాడుతారు.
దీని గురించి, ఆ అమ్మాయి తనకు తరచుగా వచ్చే చాలా సాధారణ వ్యాఖ్య అని చెప్పింది. రైలు డెక్రాడూన్కు సెళ్లాలి. ఆ అమ్మాయి సహరాన్పూర్లో దిగుతానని చెప్పింది, అక్కడ తన అత్త తనను రిసీవ్ చేసుకోవడానికి వస్తుంది. అతను ముస్సోరీకి వెళుతున్నాడని కథకుడు చెప్పినప్పుడు అమ్మాయి అసూయపడుతుంది. అమ్మాయికి పర్వతాలలో ఉండటం చాలా ఇష్టం.
సహరాన్పూర్లో ఆమె దిగింది, తర్వాత ఒక మగ ప్రయాణీకుడు రైలు ఎక్కాడు. కొత్త ప్రయాణీకుడు మునుపటి ప్రయాణీకుడిలా అంగకగా లేనందున అది అతనికి (కథకుడికి) నిరాశ కలిగిస్తుందని చెప్పారు. గుడ్డివాడు అమ్మాయి జుట్టు గురించి అడిగాడు, కొత్త ప్రయాణీకుడు ఆమె కళ్ళు అందంగా ఉన్నాయని, అయితే ఆమె గుడ్డిది కాబట్టి పనికిలాదని చెప్పింది. ఈ ద్యోతకం కథకుడికి దాదాపు షాక్ ఇచ్చింది మరియు అతను యాదృచ్ఛికంగా నవ్వుతాడు.
కథ యొక్క ప్రధాన ఇతివృత్తాలు దయ, స్వతంత్ర స్వభావం మరియు కోరిక. వాస్తవానికి, కథలోని ప్రముఖ ఇతివృత్తం ‘కోరిక’, ఎందుకంటే ఇద్దరు వ్యక్తులు అంధులు అయినప్పటికీ వారు పూర్తి దృష్టి ఉన్నవారిలా నటిస్తారు మరియు ఇతర సాధారణ వ్యక్తుల మాదిరిగానే జీవితపు రంగులను ఆస్వాదిస్తారు.
మరో గొప్ప అంశం ఏమిటంటే, రెండు పాత్రల స్వతంత్ర స్వభావం, ఇద్దరూ అంధులు కానీ వారు ఒంటరిగా ప్రయాణిస్తున్నారు, కాబట్టి ఆచరణాత్మక కారణాలపై వారు ఎంత ధైర్యంగా ఉన్నారో చూపిస్తుంది. వారిద్దరూ ఒకరికొకరు అపరిచితులు కాబట్టి, వారి సంభాషణల ద్వారా దయ ప్రతిబింబిస్తుంది. ఇందులో రెండు పాత్రలు ఎంత నిరాడంబరంగా ఉంటాయో చూపిస్తుంది. అన్ని థీమ్లు ఉన్నప్పటికీ, కథ యొక్క అతిపెద్ద థీమ్ విధి యొక్క వ్యంగ్యం. ఇద్దరూ అంధులు కానీ అది బయటకు రాదు. ఇది రస్కిన్ బాండ్ యొక్క క్లాసిక్ స్టఫ్.
రస్కిన్ బాండ్ కథ రైలులో ఇద్దరు సహ ప్రయాణీకుల గురించి లోతుగా హత్తుకునే కథ. ఇక్కడ ఈ కథలో ఇద్దరు ప్రధాన పాత్రలు-కథకుడు మరియు తోటి ప్రయాణీకుడు- ఇద్దరూ అంధులు కాబట్టి టైటిల్ సముచితం. కథలోని వ్యంగ్యం ఏమిటంటే, ఆమె రైలు దిగిన తర్వాతే తన సహ-ప్రయాణికురాలు అంధుడని కథ కథకుడికి తెలుస్తుంది.
కాబట్టి, ఈ కథకు టైటిల్ సరిగ్గా సరిపోతుంది. కథ నిండా వ్యంగ్య మలుపులు, మలుపులు ఉంటాయి. తన అంధత్వాన్ని కప్పిపుచ్చడానికి కథకుడు చేసే ప్రయత్నంలో నిజమైన హాస్యం ఉంది. కానీ అమ్మాయి కూడా అంధురాలు అని తెలుసుకున్నప్పుడు ఈ హాస్యం వ్యంగ్య మలుపు తిరుగుతుంది.
ఇది అంధుల పట్ల మరియు వారి ఇబ్బందులు మరియు ఒంటరితనం పట్ల రస్కిన్ బాండ్ యొక్క సానుభూతిని చూపుతుంది. అంధ కథకుడి వ్యక్తిగత అనుభవం ద్వారా బాండ్ సార్వత్రిక మానవ అనుభవాలపై దృష్టి సారించాడు. ఇది క్యారెక్టరెజజేషన్ కళలో బాండికి ఉన్న నైపుణ్యాన్ని చూపుతుంది. గొప్ప ఫ్రెంచ్ మాస్టర్ మౌపస్సంట్ బాండ్ మాదిరిగానే ఆసక్తికరమైన పరిస్థితులను సృష్టించడానికి సాధారణ ప్రజలను కూడా ఎంచుకుంటాడు.
The Eyes Are Not Here – Ruskin Bond
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 out 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.