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BHOLI


                                                       Summary
                    The story opens up with the introduction of a little girl named Sulekha. She was
                    called ‘Bholi’ for being a simpleton. This was so because some part of her brain
                    had got damaged due to an injury during her childhood. She stammered and
                    had pockmarks on her face which she got when she had contracted smallpox at
                    the age of two. She was a laughing stock for everyone. Her father Ramlal was a
                    Numberdar. He had three sons and four daughters, Bholi being the youngest of
                    all. Ramlal was always worried about her as it seemed impossible to get her
                    married as she had an ugly face and a dumb mind.
                     One  day,  the  Tehsildar  visited  their  village  to  inaugurate  a  girl’s  primary
                    school.  He  persuaded  Ramlal  to  send  his  daughters  to  school.  Ramlal’s  wife
                    suggested to send Bholi to  school, although she was against sending girls to
                    school because no boy would marry such a girl. She reasoned that as Bholi had
                    no chance of getting married, so she could go to school. In the beginning, Bholi
                    was frightened to leave her house but when for the first time in her life, she
                    was dressed up and her hair was washed and oiled, she felt that she was going
                    to visit a better place. In the school, she met a teacher who was very kind and
                    polite  to  her. She encouraged  her  to  study  and  speak  with  confidence.  This
                    filled hope in Bholi and she began to go to school every day.
                    Years passed and her village upgraded into a small town with some facilities
                    like  a  cotton  mill,  a  cinema  and  the  primary  school  being  converted  into  a
                    secondary school. One day Bholi’s parents decided to marry her to a lame old
                    man who was a widower but was rich and had not demanded any dowry. They
                    thought it to be the best marriage proposal for their dumb daughter and fixed
                    up her marriage.
                    On the wedding day, the bridegroom arrived with great pomp and show which
                    filled Ramlal with joy. The groom discovered that Bholi had pock marks and
                    demanded  dowry  in  return  for  marrying  her.  He  demanded  a  sum  of  five
                    thousand  rupees.  Ramlal  begged  for  mercy  and  even  placed  his  turban  in
                    Bishamber’s  feet  but  Bishamber Nath  did  not  agree.  Ramlal  had  to  give  the
                    money in order to save both his family’s honour and his daughter’s marriage.
                    Bholi could not bear all this and refused to marry a greedy old man. People
                    accused  her  of  being  shameless.  The  wedding  party  returned.  The  marriage
                    ceremony  ended  without  Bholi  getting  married.  Her  father  was  engulfed  in
                    grief and said  that  now no one  would marry  her  and what would  she  do  in
                    future. To this, she replied that she would take care of her parents when they
                    grew old and that she would teach in her school. Her teacher who was quietly
                    watching all this felt proud of her decision.
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