Bholi

Bholi Explanation

HER name was Sulekha, but since her childhood everyone had been calling her Bholi, the simpleton. She was the fourth daughter of Numberdar Ramlal. When she was ten months old, she had fallen off the cot on her head and perhaps it had damaged some part of her brain. That was why she remained a backward child and came to be known as Bholi, the simpleton.

Cot: bed
Backward: slow learner

The narrator describes a girl named Sulekha. She was the fourth daughter of the Numberdar (landlord) Ramlal. Sulekha was called Bholi since her childhood. She was called so for being a simpleton and a slow learner. All this happened because she had fallen on her head from a narrow bed when she was only ten months old. This had led to damage of some part of her brain making her a slow learner.

 

 

At birth, the child was very fair and pretty. But when she was two years old, she had an attack of small-pox. Only the eyes were saved, but the entire body was permanently disfigured by deep black pockmarks. Little Sulekha could not speak till she was five, and when at last she learnt to speak, she stammered. The other children often made fun of her and mimicked her. As a result, she talked very little.

Pockmarks: spots on the skin
Stammered: fumbled for words
Mimicked: copy, imitate

When she was born, she was very fair and beautiful. But when the child was two years old, she caught smallpox which left spots on her whole body. Only her eyes were saved from it. She started speaking when she turned five and would often fumble. Other children made fun of her and copied her. This made her feel so bad that she stopped speaking.

Ramlal had seven children — three sons and four daughters, and the youngest of them was Bholi. It was a prosperous farmer’s household and there was plenty to eat and drink. All the children except Bholi were healthy and strong. The sons had been sent to the city to study in schools and later in colleges. Of the daughters, Radha, the eldest, had already been married. The second daughter Mangla’s marriage had also been settled, and when that was done, Ramlal would think of the third, Champa. They were good-looking, healthy girls, and it was not difficult to find bridegrooms for them. But Ramlal was worried about Bholi. She had neither good looks nor intelligence.

Prosperous: doing well, rich
Plenty: a lot of

Ramlal had seven children- three sons and four daughters. Bholi was his youngest child. Ramlal was a rich farmer. He provided the family with good food. All the children were healthy and strong except Bholi. His sons were sent to the city to study at the schools and colleges. Radha was his eldest daughter, who was married. Mangla’s marriage had been fixed and now it was Champa, the third daughter’s turn. As all of them were healthy and beautiful girls, it was not tough to marry them off. The main concern for Ramlal was Bholi because neither was she beautiful or intelligent. It was not an easy thing to find a bridegroom for her.
Bholi was seven years old when Mangla was married. The same year a primary school for girls was opened in their village. The Tehsildar sahib came to perform its opening ceremony. He said to Ramlal, “As a revenue official you are the representative of the government in the village and so you must set an example to the villagers. You must send your daughters to school.”

Tehsildar: District collector
Representative: spokesperson

Bholi was seven years old when her elder sister Mangla got married. That year a primary school for girls was opened in the village. The Tehsildar (District Collector) visited to inagurate it. He asked Ramlal to send his daughters to school. He encouraged him to do so because as he was the revenue official, his act of sending his daughters to school would serve as an example for the villagers. This would lead to the education of girls in the village.

That night when Ramlal consulted his wife, she cried, “Are you crazy? If girls go to school, who will marry them?” But Ramlal had not the courage to disobey the Tehsildar. At last his wife said, “I will tell you what to do. Send Bholi to school. As it is, there is little chance of her getting married, with her ugly face and lack of sense. Let the teachers at school worry about her.”