Describe the parting of the girl from the narrator on the train. | What was the chain of thoughts that ran through the narrator's mind when the train approached the station? How was it affected by the man's conversation?

Describe the parting of the girl from the narrator on the train.

On his way to Mussoorie, the narrator met a girl on the train who accompanied him till Saharanpur. The narrator was totally blind at that time. He started a conversation with the girl but was very tactful while interacting with her since he did not want her to discover that he was blind. The conversation became interesting and lively with the course of time but it was short-lived as the girl reached her destination soon. The girl bade the narrator goodbye and left the compartment. The parting of the girl from the narrator was like any other parting but the meeting had a profound effect on the narrator. The fragrance of the perfume that came from the girl's hair seemed so tantalizing to the narrator that he wanted to touch her hair. The narrator remarked that the brief encounter is likely to forget by the girl but would stay with him for a long time thereafter.

What was the chain of thoughts that ran through the narrator's mind when the train approached the station? How was it affected by the man's conversation?

Throughout the train journey, the narrator had painted a picture of the girl in his mind and visualised every movement of hers. When the train journey was about to come to an end, he wanted it to continue forever. Her voice reminded him of the sparkle of a mountain stream and her clear, ringing laugh still rang in his ears. His curiosity regarding her hairstyle was increased by the tantalising smell of perfume from her hair. But his momentary lit up the world again plunged into darkness with the girl's departure. Sitting beside the window, he could again play the fascinating game of guessing what went on outside.

At that very moment, a fellow-traveller broke into his reverie. The narrator asked him how did the girl wear her hair. The co-passenger said in a somewhat surprised tone that it was her eyes which he had noticed and not her hair. He added that, though her eyes were beautiful, they were of no use to her, because she was completely blind. This sudden revelation made the narrator speechless.

Though the narrator was visually impaired yet he was very sensitive Discuss with examples from the text.

Does the author help us anticipate the ironical twist in the end during the course of the narrative? If yes, give examples from the text to support your argument.

Would you agree that this story is a comment on 'seeing'? Support your point with instances from the text.

With the help of this text, how does the author prove that the mind's eye is more powerful than our natural eyes?

There are certain hints in 'The Eyes Have it that tell you that the narrator felt infatuated with the girl in the train. Elucidate the hints from your reading of the short story.

Discuss the character of the narrator in brief.

Comment on the ending of the story 'The Eyes Have It'.

Why do you think the autobiographical piece has been aptly entitled 'Strong Roots'? Justify your answer.

Write how Abdul Kalam presents his father in his autobiographical writing 'Strong Roots'.

How does the author describe his mother?

"We lived in our ancestral house,"- Who is the speaker? When was the house built? What kind of house was it? How did the inmates of the house lead their lives in the house?

"Our locality was predominantly Muslim,"—Who is the speaker? How does the speaker describe the locality? What picture of communal harmony do you find in this description?

"I normally ate with my mother."-Who ate with his mother? Name his mother. Where did he eat with his mother? What did he eat with his mother?

"When my father came out of the mosque after the prayers, people of different religions would be sitting outside, waiting for him." - What would usually happen when Kalam's father came out of the mosque after the prayers? Why did the people of different religions wait for the narrator's father? When would his father smile and ask people to thank Allah?

"Why don't you say this to the people who come to you...?"-Who says this and to whom? What is referred to by the word 'this'? Why do the people come to the person spoken to?

"This is not a correct approach at all..."—Who said this? What is the approach'? Why is the approach not correct?

"One must understand the difference between a fear-ridden vision of destiny and the vision that enables us to seek the enemy of fulfilment within ourselves."-What do you mean by ".. fear-ridden vision of destiny"? What is the other vision? Which is to be preferred and why?