Book Review: The Eyes Have It by Ruskin Bond

This is a very popular story by Ruskin Bond about two blind persons who happen to meet on a short train journey. The story is a great example of irony as both persons, a young man and a young girl, are blind but they show as they aren’t. This story is also known by other names like – The Girl on the Train and The Eyes are not Here…

The narrator is a young man – he was alone in the compartment till Rohana, well then a young woman boards the train and with her comes her parents who instruct her what to do and what not to do while traveling on a train. As the train chugs out of the station, the young man 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 young man 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 man 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 for him as he is not that beautiful like the previous passenger. The blind man asks about the girl, the new passenger says that her eyes were beautiful but useless as she was blind. This revelation almost shocks the young man and he laughs on the co-incidence.

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 they are full-sighted and enjoy the colours of life like other normal people. Another great aspect is independent nature of both the 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.

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