Class 10 English Footprints without Feet Chapter 8 (formerly Chapter 9 before The Hack Driver was removed), Bholi by K.A. Abbas, tells the deeply moving story of Sulekha—nicknamed ‘Bholi’ the simpleton after a childhood fall and smallpox left her with a stammer and pock-marked face—whose gentle village schoolteacher gives her the education, voice and self-respect to stand up against a greedy dowry-demanding bridegroom.
What Class 10 English (Footprints without Feet) Chapter 8 Covers
Story Summary: Bholi (K.A. Abbas) Sulekha, the fourth daughter of prosperous village Numberdar Ramlal (who has three sons and four daughters: Radha, Mangla, Champa and Sulekha), fell off her cot at ten months old (damaging part of her brain so she became a backward child called ‘Bholi’, the simpleton) and suffered an attack of smallpox at age two that permanently disfigured her face and body with black pock-marks, while she could not speak until age five and stammered whenever she tried. Neglected in worn-out hand-me-down dresses, she is sent to the newly opened village primary school only because the Tehsildar tells Ramlal to set an example for the villagers and her mother thinks nobody will marry an ugly, witless girl anyway. At school, when Bholi stammers out ‘Bh-Bh-Bho-Bholi’ and the other girls laugh, her kind, soft-spoken teacher calls her by her real name quietly, gives her a colourful picture book, and assures her that with education she will speak without the slightest stammer and no one will ever laugh at her. Years later, when her parents arrange her marriage to Bishamber Nath—a well-to-do grocer of her father’s age from another village who limps and has grown-up children from his first wife—Bishamber catches sight of Bholi’s pock-marks at the garland ceremony and demands 5,000 rupees as dowry, humiliating Ramlal into placing his turban at Bishamber’s feet. At that moment Bholi flings the marriage garland into the sacred fire and speaks in a clear, loud voice without any stammer, refusing to marry a mean, greedy and contemptible coward, promising to care for her parents in their old age and teach in the same school that made her who she is—while her teacher watches with the quiet satisfaction of an artist contemplating the completion of her masterpiece.
Exercises in Chapter 8
- Read and Find Out & Think about It cover why Sulekha was called Bholi, why Ramlal was worried about her, why she was sent to school for an unusual reason, how her teacher played a transformative role in her life, why Bholi at first agreed to an unequal match and why she later rejected the marriage.
Read Class 10 English (Footprints without Feet) Chapter 8 Online
More Chapters
- Previous: Chapter 7: The Necklace
- Next: Chapter 9: The Book That Saved the Earth
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FAQ
How did Bholi’s teacher play a pivotal role in changing the course of her life?
On Bholi’s very first day at school, when she was terrified and wept in a corner after stammering her name, her teacher spoke to her with soothing affection, encouraged her to say her full name effortlessly, gave her a book of pictures, and promised that if she came to school every day she would soon be more learned than anyone else in the village and speak without a stammer. The teacher’s patience and education transformed a frightened ‘dumb cow’ into a confident, articulate young woman.
Why did Bholi at first agree to marry Bishamber Nath, and why did she later refuse to marry him?
Bholi initially agreed to the unequal marriage out of love for her parents and to keep the family’s honour (‘izzat’). However, when Bishamber Nath saw the pock-marks on her face at the wedding mandap and humiliated her father by demanding 5,000 rupees as dowry before placing the garland, Bholi’s education and self-respect made her realise he was a heartless, greedy and contemptible man, so she threw the garland into the sacred fire and called off the wedding in a clear, stammer-free voice.