CBSE Class 10 English Foot Prints Without Feet Chapter 8 Bholi

Revision Notes for CBSE Class 10 English Chapter 8 Bholi

Synopsis of the story

Sulekha, also called Bholi, is a young girl with pockmarks, a stammering habit, and a slow brain because of some crucial incidents in her early childhood. She was not only ill-treated by the society but by her own parents. Read the summary to learn about her tough life and how going to school changed that forever.

Theme of the story

The story talks about a lot of things that have persisted in Indian societies since time immemorial. The dowry, discrimination between girls and boys, the parental urge of getting girls married and trying to fit them into society’s beauty standards. The behavior of people towards girls doesn’t fit into their canvas of being good-looking or approachable and more. A lot of topics have been touched upon by the chapter which makes it a must-read.

Summary of Bholi

There was a girl named Sulekha who was commonly called Bholi due to an incident from her childhood. When she was 10 months old, she had fallen off from a cot and it damaged some parts of her brain which made her a backward child with a slow brain. She was born with a fair skin tone and a pretty face but at the age of 2, she contracted smallpox leaving deep black pock marks on her body. She started speaking at the age of five but stammered.

She was born into the household of Ramlal, a farmer, with 7 children. Among them, there were three sons and four daughters who were quite healthy and fit into the society’s beauty standards. Sulekha, the youngest of them was however different from all of her elder sisters and it was difficult to find a bridegroom for her.

One day, a school was opened in their village which was inaugurated by the Tehsildar and he had told Ramlal to send his daughters to the school to set an example for the villagers. On discussing this incident with his wife, she told that if they sent their daughters to school no one would marry them but they could send Bholi such that she at least gets an achievement in her life, since she neither had a good face nor intelligence.

Ramlal took Bholi’s hand and told her that she would be taken to school but Bholi had neither heard nor been to one before and she was frightened. But, she was given a washed old dress by Champa. For the first time in her life, she was being bathed properly, her dress and hair done neatly which made her realize that she was going to go to a place better than home.

She was taken to the school and they entered a classroom full of girls squatting on the mats and writing on the slates. The teacher asked her to sit in the corner and Bholi was looking around. She found pictures on the board, girls writing and studying from the book. Meanwhile, she noticed that the teacher came beside her and in a firm and sweet voice asked her name. Bholi started with “BHO, BHO, BHO” but stammered and started crying with her head low. All the girls laughed at her.

The school bell rang and everyone went home but Bholi sat there with her head hung low. The teacher called her and asked her name. She tried again and the teacher encouraged her. Bholi was able to tell her name and the teacher kept on telling her that if she tried she would be able to speak properly. All she has to do is come to school daily and learn new things along with speaking. That day, she went back home with a new hope in her heart and mind.

The years passed by and Bholi grew up a little. Ramlal and his wife decided to get Bholi married to a rich grocer with a house and thousands in his bank. He was as old as Ramlal and had limps but the fact that he was not asking for dowry and had no idea about Bholi’s early childhood and her problems, it seemed right to them to get her married to the old man. Bholi was listening to the conversation in another room.

On the day of marriage, the bridegroom arrived with massive celebrations. Ramlal had not thought that Bholi would have such a grand wedding ceremony and this made her elder sisters envious. As the priest demanded the garland ceremony, Bholi’s veil was lifted up which revealed her pockmarks. The bridegroom immediately demanded 5000 bucks or else he would not marry the daughter of the house. Ramlal cried and begged to negotiate the money as he did not have such a huge amount but the bridegroom was in no mood for negotiation.

The bridegroom was offered the amount he demanded and the ceremony continued. As he was putting a garland around Bholi’s neck, she threw it away and asked her father to take the money as she would not marry the old lame man. All the guests started murmuring and talking about her shamelessness. Everyone whispered that they thought of her to be as dumb as a cow to which Bholi replied that yes she was as dumb as a cow but now she could speak without hesitation and asked if they wanted to hear more of her. Everyone was shocked.

The bridegroom returned with his party and Ramlal asked her who would she get married to now. Bholi replied that she would take care of her parents and guide young children at the same school where she learned so much. The teacher who had played a key role in her life was happy seeing Bholi grow up so much and have learned so much.

To download the revision notes for Class 10 English Chapter 8 Bholi, click on the PDF link attached below