THE EYES HAVE IT by Ruskin Bond: An Analysis

The Writer

Ruskin Bond, born in 1934 at Kasauli in Himachal Pradesh, is an Indian writer of British descent. He is an outstanding figure of international repute among the contemporary Indian English writers. He does much to standardise our national English literature. He is a prolific and powerful writer. He has written short stories, essays, novels and children books. The setting of most of his stories is Dehra, as Malgudi is for R K Narayan. He has received many awards. His first novel, The Room on the Roof brought him the John Llewellyn Rhys Memorial Prize in 1957. He received the Sahitya Academy Award in 1992 for his short story collection, Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1999 and the N D Mehra Memorial Award in 2003 for his contribution to children’s literature. Ruskin, a versatile writer and a man of colourful personality, is still active. He now lives in Landour near Mussoorie. His profound love for his own birth place and his passion for literature are the treasure of his life. Let his powerful pen run long.

The Source

The Eyes Have It, a very popular short story by Ruskin Bond, was originally published in Contemporary Indian English Stories. Later it was included in many other collections with different titles such as The Eyes Are Not Here, The Girl on the Train, etc.

The Story

The Eyes Have It is a marvellous short story of Ruskin Bond who has used first person narrative technique in the story. Here everything is narrated by the person who himself is blind. His eyes are sensitive only to light and darkness. While going to Dehradun by train he comes across a girl. He starts conversation and gradually becomes interested in her. He tactfully hides his blindness from the girl to impress her. But the conversation does not last long. The girl bids him good-bye as the train arrives at her destination. After her departure, a new male passenger comes into the compartment. From that man the narrator learns that the girl was completely blind. The revelation shocks the narrator. He feels that he has deceived himself. This is an ironical twist that makes the end of the story so appealing.

The Features

• The Eyes Have It is an ideal short story. It is short in length and can be easily finished in one go. It has a limited number of characters – the narrator, the girl and the new passenger.
• It illustrates Bond’s art of story telling which is simple in approach but universal in appeal. It tells a simple tale in a lucid style with a deep insight into the psychology of men. It ends with a striking discovery, and its plot is well-knit. Bond makes the story a vivid one by using the first person narrative technique.
• The setting of the story is very simple and interesting. Everything happens in the train compartment and the time chosen is October when Mussoorie looks beautiful.
• It 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.

Links of Similar Posts :

• THE EYES HAVE IT by Ruskin Bond : Words-notes
• THE EYES HAVE IT by Ruskin Bond : Sample Questions
• THE EYES HAVE IT by Ruskin Bond : A Quiz

LEELA'S FRIEND by R K Narayan: An Analysis

The Writer:

   Rasipuram Krishnaswami Narayan (10 October, 1906 -- 13 May, 2001) is one of the best Indian novelists writing in English. His famous novels are Swami and Friends (1935), The Bachelor of Arts (1937), The Dark Room (1938), The English Teacher (1946), The Guide (1958), The Man-eater of Malgudi (1962), etc. He also wrote many short stories and published them in volumes as Malgudi Days (1941), Dodu and Other Stories (1943), Cyclone and Other Stories (1944), etc. He is noted for his simple way of writing. He won numerous awards and honours for his works. He received the Sahitya Academy Award in 1961 for his novel The Guide. He was awarded the Padma Bhusan in 1964. In 1980, he was awarded the A. C. Benson Award by the Royal Society of Literature.

    To know more about the writer click here.

The Source:

  The present story Leela’s Friend is one of his best known short-stories and is taken from his Malgudi Days.

The Summary:

  Mr. Sivasanker is deeply thinking about his servant-problem. Sidda, a homeless poor boy, comes to his gate just then in search of a job. Sivasanker looks at him and finds nothing objectionable. Yet he asks a few questions about his previous work. He calls then his wife who turns satisfied after meeting the boy. Leela, their five-year old daughter comes out and likes the boy. Sidda is selected on an agreement of two meals a day and four rupees a month. In return he is to wash clothes, tend the garden, run errands, chop wood and look after Leela.

  Sidda is a likeable boy who gets on well with the family. He becomes a good friend with Leela. Sidda and Leela play together with a ball. Sidda throws the ball upward. When the ball comes down, he tells her that the ball has touched the moon. Even he has touched the moon many times from a coconut tree. The innocent girl believes every word of Sidda. She also expresses her desire to touch the moon. She is surprised to see that wherever they move, the moon is there. She claps in joy. Sidda informs her that he really knows the moon which follows up his command.

  At day’s end Leela plays the teacher to Sidda. She tries to teach him with her little knowledge. She writes a letter or draws a kind of cat or crow, and asks him to copy it. But he is a very poor performer. Yet Leela does not give up her effort. She does not allow him to leave his task. The game of teaching goes on for a long time. Sidda gets relief only when he falsely tells her that her mother is calling her to dinner.

Every night Sidda tells a nice story to put Leela to sleep. Day by day he becomes her constant companion. A sweetening relationship is established between them.

  One evening Sidda goes out to buy sugar and Leela accompanies him. When they come home, Leela’s mother noticed that the gold chain around Leela’s neck is missing. Being furious she slaps Leela and calls Sidda at once on suspicion. Sidda defends himself feebly but leaves the house stealthily.

  At this Mr. Sivasanker and his wife are convinced that Sidda is the culprit. He lodges a complaint against him in the Police Station. But Leela is not ready to believe this. She longs for his company. She is deeply sorrowful. She thinks that her parents are responsible for her friend’s leaving their house. The loss of gold chain does not matter to her.

  Mr. Sivasanker learns from the Police Inspector that Sidda has criminal records. He has been in jail for several times for stealing jewellery from children. He assures his wife that the police will arrest Sidda very soon. Four days later, the police Inspector and a constable brings in Sidda. Leela is very happy and runs to meet him. The Inspector stops her and presses Sidda to confess his guilt. Leela’s mother abuses him for his treachery. Sidda only replies that he has not taken the chain.

  The Inspector tells his constable to take him back to the police station. Leela requests him to free Sidda. But nobody listens to her. She starts to shed tears.

  A few days later, Leela’s mother discovers the lost gold chain from a tamarind pot. She comes to know that Leela has dropped it there and forgotten all about it. Mr. Sivasanker learns all and informs the police about the chain’s discovery, but does not allow Sidda to continue his job. Sidda’s position does not improve. He remains a confirmed criminal in his eyes.

The Features:

  It is clear from the title Leela’s Friend that the story is about Leela and her friend Sidda. The story brings forth the class-conflict between the high and the low of the society. Sidda becomes the victim of that conflict. Poverty leaves a permanent wound to Sidda’s life. Though he tries to overcome his dark past and is proved guiltless at the end of the story, he is not either allowed to continue his job neither provided with an apology. The so-called society remains indifferent to his sorrows and sufferings.

  Sidda’s punishment is unjust and also a blunder. But the protector of the law escapes counter punishment. This is not a case to Sidda only, but its roots lie in the every sphere of the society making it worse and gloomy. R. K. Narayan has raised his voice to protest against this through the present story. Herein lies his craftsmanship.

The Theme:

• Betrayal of trust
• True friendship
• Poverty and exploitation
• Cruelty of masters

The Text:

  Find it in the Text page.