Class 10 English — Footprints Without Feet · Chapter 8 NotesBholi

Bholi's real name was Sulekha, but everyone called her Bholi, the simpleton. When she was ten months old she fell off her cot on her head, which perhaps damaged part of her brain, so she remained a backward child. At two she had an attack of small-pox that left her body permanently disfigured with deep black pock-marks; only her eyes were saved. She could not speak till she was five, and when she learnt to speak she stammered. Other children mimicked her, so she talked very little. Ramlal, a Numberdar and prosperous farmer, had seven children. His sons studied in city schools and colleges, and his elder daughters were good-looking and easy to marry. Only Bholi had neither good looks nor intelligence, and her father was worried about her.

• Bholi's real nameSulekha
• Cause of her backwardnessa fall on her head as a baby
• Small-pox left her face and body pock-marked
• She stammered and was mocked by other children

When Bholi was seven, Mangla was married and a primary school for girls opened in the village. The Tehsildar sahib, who came for the opening ceremony, told Ramlal that as a revenue official and the government's representative in the village he must set an example and send his daughters to school. Ramlal lacked the courage to disobey him, but his wife was horrified: if girls went to school, who would marry them? In the end she suggested sending Bholi, since there was little chance of her marrying anyway with her ugly face and lack of sense. So Bholi was sent to school not out of love or ambition for her, but because she was considered the least marriageable daughter.

• Tehsildar sahib urged Ramlal to set an example by sending his daughters to school
• Ramlal's wife feared that educated girls would not find husbands
• Bholi was chosen because her marriage prospects seemed hopeless

Bholi was frightened when her father took her to school; she remembered how the old cow Lakshmi had been turned out of the house and sold. New clothes had never been made for her, and she wore her sisters' old, shrunk dresses, but that day she was bathed and given a clean dress, which made her believe she was being taken to a place better than her home. At school she sat in a corner, afraid of the laughing girls, and could not say her name without stammering. The lady teacher, however, spoke to her in a soft, soothing voice, encouraged her to say her full name, patted her affectionately and told her that if she put the fear out of her heart she would speak like everyone else. She promised that in time Bholi would be more learned than anyone in the village and that people would listen to her with respect. Bholi went home with a new hope and a new life.

• Bholi feared school because she thought she was being sent away like the cow Lakshmi
• The teacher's gentleness was unlike anything Bholi had known at home
• The teacher promised that education would win her respect and remove her stammer

Years passed, the village grew into a small town, the little primary school became a high school, and a cinema, a cotton ginning mill and a railway station came up. Bholi grew up in this changing world and continued her education. The teacher's words proved true: Bholi became a confident, educated young woman who could think for herself. Education gave her not only knowledge but also the courage to judge people and situations. When her parents discussed Bishamber's proposal, Bholi lay awake on her cot in the courtyard, listening to their whispered conversation, and understood exactly what kind of man was being chosen for her.

• The village developed into a small town during these years
• Bholi's schooling continued and shaped her confidence
• She silently observed her parents' discussion about her marriage

Bishamber Nath was a well-to-do grocer from another village, about the same age as Ramlal, lame, and with grown-up children from his first wife. He asked for no dowry, and Bholi's mother thought she would be lucky to get such a bridegroom; she argued that he did not know about Bholi's pock-marks and lack of sense, and that if this proposal was refused Bholi might remain unmarried all her life. Ramlal wondered what Bholi would say, but his wife dismissed her as a witless dumb cow. Bholi, listening in the courtyard, said nothing. On the wedding day Bishamber arrived with a band, a large party of friends and relations, and a decorated horse. Ramlal was overjoyed at the pomp, and Bholi's sisters envied her luck.

• Bishamber Natha well-to-do grocer, lame, elderly, with grown children
• He asked for no dowry at first
• Bholi's parents accepted the proposal without consulting her

At the wedding, when the veil was slipped back from Bholi's face, Bishamber saw her pock-marks and stopped with the garland poised in his hands. He demanded five thousand rupees from Ramlal, who placed his turban, his honour, at the bridegroom's feet and begged him to take two thousand. Bishamber refused and threatened to go back. Weeping, Ramlal counted out five thousand rupees and placed the bundle at his feet. Bishamber smiled triumphantly and asked for the garland. But this time Bholi looked straight at him with cold contempt, struck out her hand like a streak of lightning and flung the garland into the fire. Speaking clearly and without the slightest stammer, she told her father to take back his money and declared that she would not marry such a mean, greedy and contemptible coward. When an old woman called her shameless, Bholi answered that the dumb cow was now speaking. Bishamber and his party left, and the sacred fire slowly died down.

• Bishamber demanded five thousand rupees after seeing Bholi's face
• Ramlal paid the money to save his izzat
• Bholi flung the garland into the fire and refused the marriage
• She spoke clearly, without stammering, for the first time

When everyone had gone, Ramlal asked Bholi what would become of her, since no one would marry her now. Sulekha answered in a calm, steady voice that he should not worry: in his old age she would serve him and her mother, and she would teach in the same school where she had learnt so much. She turned to her teacher, who had stood in a corner watching the whole drama, and the teacher agreed. In her smiling eyes was the deep satisfaction of an artist contemplating the completion of a masterpiece. The story ends with Bholi being called Sulekha again, her real name, because she has at last become her own person — educated, self-respecting and free.

• Bholi chose to serve her parents and teach in her old school
• The teacher's satisfaction is compared to an artist's pride in a finished masterpiece
• The return of the name Sulekha marks her new identity and dignity