Bholi Summary Class 10 English Footprints without Feet Chapter 8

Key Points of the Story

• Sulekha, known as Bholi, was the fourth daughter of Numberdar Ramlal, labeled a simpleton due to a childhood injury.
• Bholi faced challenges due to smallpox, resulting in disfigurement and speech issues.
• Ramlal, her father, decides to send her to school despite family objections.
• Initially fearful and mocked by other children, Bholi finds solace and encouragement from her teacher.
• Years later, a proposal for Bholi's marriage to a wealthy man is accepted, but Bholi takes a stand against the arrangement.
• Bholi rejects the marriage and expresses her newfound confidence and self-worth.
• The story concludes with Bholi's determination to serve her family and become a teacher.

Detailed Summary

Ramlal was the Numberdar of the village. He had four daughters and three sons. All his children were very healthy but his youngest daughter Sulekha was a backward child. When she was ten months old she fell down from the cot and a pan of her brain was damaged.
When she was two years old she had an attack of smallpox. Her face was permanently disfigured by deep black pock-marks. She started speaking at the age of five years but she stammered. So everyone called her Bholi.
She was considered a witless fool even by her parents, her sisters and her brothers. None cared for her. Ramlars eldest daughter Radha had already been married. The second daughter Mangla’s marriage had also been settled. Ramlal was worried only about Bholi.
A primary school for girls was opened in the village. The Tehsildar Sahib came to perform its opening ceremony. He asked Ramlal to set an example before the village by sending his daughters to school. Both Ramlal and his wife were not in favour of girl education but Ramlal had not the courage to disobey the Tehsildar. So they decided to send Bholi to school.The next day Ramlal asked Bholi to go to school with him. ‘Bholi did not know anything about school. She was frightened. She refused to go anywhere.
Ramlal asked his wife to give some decent clothes to Bholi. New clothes had never been made for Bholi but that day she was lucky to receive a clean dress. She was even bathed and oil was rubbed into her dry and matted hair. She thought that she was being taken to a place better than her house.
When they reached the school, Bholi saw many girls of her age sitting in the rooms. The headmistress asked Bholi to sit down in a corner in one of the classrooms. The lady teacher in the class was very good. The teacher asked her about her name but she could not speak her full name. She began to weep.
When the school was off for the day the teacher asked Bholi to come the next day and Bholi nodded. Bholi became familiar to the teacher. The teacher drove out her sense of fear. Now she began to speak without stammering a little.
Now, Bholi was grown up. She had passed many classes. Her father got a marriage proposal for her from Bishamber who was a rich grocer from the neighbouring village. He was about fifty years old. He walked with limbs. He had children from his earlier wife. Ramlal accepted the proposal and asked Bishamber to come with a bar.
Bishamber came with great pomp and show for the wedding. Everybody was joyful. All the friends and relatives of Ramlal and Bishamber were present there. Bholi dressed in red was brought there. When Bishamber was about to put the garland around Bholi’s neck, a lady pulled back Bholi’s veil.
Bishamber saw Bholi’s face covered with pock-marks. He refused to many her. After many requests but he agreed to put a condition that he would marry Bholi only when Ramlal would give him five thousand rupees.
Ramlal put the bundle of five thousand rupees on Bishamber’s feet. Bishamber was feeling victorious. He raised the garland to place it around the bride’s neck but Bholi struck the garland away. Bholi said that she would not marry such a mean, greedy and cowardly person. The bar was returned empty-handed without a bride.
Ramlal was full of grief and shame. Bholi consoled her father that she would serve them in their old age and she said that she would teach in the same school where she got the education.

Theme/Message

• Empowerment through Education: The transformative power of education in shaping one's identity and confidence.
• Self-Acceptance: Overcoming societal labels and embracing one's true self despite external judgments.
• Standing Against Oppression: Resisting oppressive norms and asserting individual agency.

Message:

• Education as Liberation: Education can break the chains of ignorance and empower individuals to defy societal expectations.
• Courage in Adversity: The story highlights the importance of courage in facing challenges and standing up for one's beliefs.
• Self-Worth and Dignity: Bholi's refusal to compromise her self-worth emphasizes the significance of dignity and self-respect.

Difficult Words

1. Simpleton: A person lacking common sense or wit.
2. Disfigured: Altered in shape or appearance, especially in a negative way.
3. Stammered: To speak with involuntary pauses or repetitions.
4. Contempt: The feeling that a person or a thing is beneath consideration, worthless, or deserving scorn.
5. Izzat: Honor or respect.
6. Limp: To walk with difficulty, typically due to a damaged or stiff leg or foot.
7. Triumphant: Having achieved a great victory or success.
8. Contemptible: Deserving scorn or disdain; worthy of disrespect.
9. Confused: Unable to think clearly; bewildered.
10. Adversity: Difficulties or misfortune.
11. Resist: To withstand the action or effect of something.
12. Empowerment: The process of becoming stronger and more confident, especially in controlling one's life and claiming one's rights.
13. Agency: The capacity of individuals to act independently and make their own free choices.
14. Self-Respect: Pride and confidence in oneself; a feeling that one is behaving with honor and dignity.
15. Transformation: A marked change in form, nature, or appearance.