BHOLI

BHOLI

By

K.A. Abbas

1. Why is Bholi's father worried about her?

Ans. Bholi is not good looking. She has deep black pock-marks on her body. She also lacks sense. She is mentally backward. She stammers badly. The father is worried that no one will marry such a girl.

Q.2. For what unusual reasons is Bholi sent to school?

Ans. The Tehsildar visits Bholi’s village at the opening ceremony of the primary school. He asks Bholi’s father, Ramlal, to send her to school and set an example for others. Ramlal cannot disobey the Tehsildar. Moreover Bholi’s parents think there is no chance of her marriage due to her lack of sense and ugly face. So to get rid of her, they agree to send her to school.

Q.3. Does Bholi enjoy her first day at school?

Ans. At first, she is frightened. But later she seems to be enjoying the pictures on the wall. She becomes happy to find so many girls of her own gage. The thing that makes Bholi happy the most is the loving behaviour of the teacher. No one has ever shown her such love. It touches Bholi's heart.

Q. 4. Does she find her teacher different from the people at home?

or

How did Bholi find her school teacher different from her family members?

Ans. Bholi finds her school teachers different from the people at home. At home, nobody cares for Bholi. Even her mother thinks her to be a burden. But her teacher shows great love and sympathy for her. She speaks to her softly. She fills her heart with a new hope and a new life.

Q.5. Why do Bholi's parents accept Bishamber's marriage proposal?

Ans. Bholi's parents accept Bishamber's marriage proposal for many reasons. First, he is quite rich. He has a big shop, a house and a lot of money. Then he is not asking for any dowry. He also doesn't know that Bholi is good-looking and she lacks sense. Thus her parents accept Bishamber's marriage proposal.

Q. 6. Why does Bishamber's marriage with Bholi not take place?

Ans. When Bishamber is about to garland Bholi, he comes to know of black pock-marks on her face. He refuses to marry her unless he is given five thousand rupees. Ramlal gives him the money. But then Bholi refuses to marry a mean and greedy person like him.

Q. 7. Bholi had many apprehensions about going to school. What made her feel that she was going to a better place than her home?

Ans. Bholi had always been a neglected child. She never ever got any good clothes to wear. She got only the old dresses of her sisters. But that day she was given a clean dress. She was bathed. Oil was rubbed into her hair. So she felt she was going to a better place than her home.

Q. 8. How did Bholi's teacher play an important role in changing the course of her life?

Ans. Bholi's teacher played an important role in changing the course of her life. She brought a new hope in Bholi's life. She filled her with confidence. Thus the loving care and encouragement given to her by her teacher changed the course of her life.

Q. 9. Why did Bholi at first agree to an unequal match? Why did she later reject the marriage? What does this tell us about her?

Ans. Bholi’s parents thought her to be a burden as she was neither good looking nor mentally healthy. They were always worried about her marriage. Thus Bholi at first agrees to an unequal match. But later when she found him greedy, she refused to marry him. All this shows that on one hand she wants her parents' happiness at the cost of her own life. But on the other hand, she does not like her parents to be insulted.

Q. 10. Why was Sulekha nicknamed Bholi?

Ans. When she was ten months old, she fell off from the cot. Her head and some part of her brain got damaged. She also stammered. She remained a backward child. Being simple, she was nicknamed Bholi.

Q. 11. Give examples from the text, that Bholi was a neglected child.

Ans. Bholi was not given new clothes. Dresses of her elder sisters were passed on her. No one cared to bathe her or oil her hair. Even her clothes were not washed up regularly. All this showed that she was a neglected child.  

Q.12. Why did the other children make fun of Bholi?

Ans. Some part of Bholi's brain had got damaged when she fell from a cot at the age of ten months. This made her a little backward and simpleton. She learned to speak a little late and stammered a lot. Thus, the children made fun of her and mimicked her.

Q. 13. Why was Ramlal worried about Bholi and not about his other children?

Ans. Ramlal was more worried about Bholi because she was the weakest child in their family while her brothers and sisters were healthy. He was worried about her ugly looks because of the pock-marks all over her body and also because of her stammering. He was worried that no one would come forward to marry her.

Q.14. Why did Bholi react when her father caught her by the hand to take her to school? How did her fear disappear after she had gone to school?

Ans. Bholi, the weakest child of the family, was suffering from physical disability and mental infirmity, because of which she didn't want to go to school. But then, her teacher proved a gem to her who always provided all possible help and assistance to her and turned her into a bold and confident girl. The teacher always encouraged her and asked her to come to school daily.

Q.15. How does Bholi become her teacher's masterpiece?

Ans. Bholi was definitely her teacher's masterpiece because under her guidance, she overcame her handicap stammering. The shy and reticent child bloomed into a bold and confident girl. She was a true masterpiece because she had the courage to revolt against a social evil of dowry and refused to marry the greedy Bishamber.

LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

Q.1.  Write a summary of the story ‘Bholi’

Ans.  ‘Bholi’ by K.A.  Abbas is a story of a little girl named Bholi. She was a slow learner and stammered. She fell down from the cot in her childhood and a part of her brain was damaged. She had lost her beauty to smallpox. She was neglected as a  witless fool even by her parents and her brothers and sisters. But the opening of a primary school for girls in her village changed her life.  Her teacher was very kind. She encouraged her. She gave her confidence.  She made her speak without halts. The girl achieved what appeared to be impossible. She proved herself a real heroine when she refused to marry Bishamber Nath who demanded five thousand rupees cash from her father in dowry.

Q.2.  Describe Bholi’s experience at her first day at school.

Ans. Bholi’s parents wanted to get rid of her. So they decided to send her to school. One day Ramlal held Bholi's hand and asked her to go to school. Bholi did not know what a school was like. She thought that her father was turning her out of his house like their old cow Lakshmi. She shouted in terror and pulled her hand away from her father's grip.

On the first day of school, she was frightened. But then she seemed to be enjoying the pictures on the wall. She was happy to see so many girls of her age in the class. The real thing that made her happy on this very day was the loving and soothing treatment of the teacher. The teacher spoke to her in a soft and soothing voice. No one had ever spoken to her gently. This touched her heart.

The teacher told Bholi that if she came to school regularly she would be more learned than anyone else in the village. She would speak without a stammer and everyone would listen to her with respect. This was a new hope and new life for Bholi.