Bholi is a short story written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, a popular Indian film director, screenwriter and novelist. The story revolves around the life of a simple girl, Sulekha, who is called “Bholi” (simpleminded) ever since her childhood on account of her plain demeanor. It traces the journey of her transformation from a timid, little girl who lacked self-confidence and stammered as she spoke to a strong, young woman who is unafraid to fight against the injustice done to her and raise her voice fearlessly against the menace of dowry.
Through her story, the author throws light on the social issues that prevail in our country, patriarchy being the root cause of most of them. The emphasis placed by the society upon external beauty and appearance rather than on a person’s intellect and inner goodness is also an issue that is raised in the story.
Along with this, Bholi’s tale also highlights the significant role that a teacher plays in a student’s life by guiding him/her towards the path of righteousness and instilling in them a sense of confidence and belief in their abilities. A good teacher is the light that helps one cross even the darkest of paths through honing their inherent qualities which enable them to shine bright and strong in the journey of life.
Bholi | Summary
Bholi, the titular character and the protagonist, was the fourth daughter of Numberdar Ramlal. Even though her original name was Sulekha, everyone called her Bholi due to her quiet and simple nature. Due to an accidental fall in her childhood, a part of her brain had been damaged causing her mind to be a little backward. This was followed by a bout of small-pox when she was two, which resulted in pockmarks covering her whole body, utterly disfiguring her appearance. Thus, right from her childhood, due to her injury as well as because of the low self-esteem, especially regarding her appearance, she was very slow at learning things and stammered as she spoke. This made her the object of ridicule amongst all which further deteriorated her self-confidence and she grew up to be very shy and reserved.
While her other siblings were very strong and healthy, Bholi was neither good-looking nor intelligent which was a cause of great worry for her parents who were anxious that they would not be able to find a groom for her and marry her like their other daughters. As a result, she was much neglected by them as they considered her to be good for nothing and a burden they had to get rid off.
When a primary school for girls opened in their village, her father got Bholi admitted in it even though he believed that sending girls to school might pose a hindrance in their marriage. He agreed to let Bholi go to school because there was anyway very thin chance of her getting married due to her being an unattractive simpleton.
Though she was very scared of going to school initially, thinking that her parents were throwing her out of the house, later on she was happy with the decision because it meant new clothes and a lot of pampering for her so as to make her look decent in school.
On her first day at the school, she was both nervous and fascinated as everything seemed utterly new and unknown to her. When her teacher asked her name, she could not answer properly and instead stammered anxiously. However, the teacher motivated her and thus encouraged, she managed to overcome her fear and answer her without stammering. Her teacher’s praise and confidence in her abilities inspired her to work hard at school and hone her personality. She was filled with a new hope and felt as if she had been granted a new life.
As years passed, Bholi grew older and her parents started thinking about her marriage. Her father was very keen to accept the proposal of Bishamber, a well to do shopkeeper, for Bholi. It was an alliance made out of compromise since Bishamber was almost as old as Bholi’s father and had grown up children from his first wife. But since he did not yet know of Bholi’s pock-marks and lack of sense, and was not demanding any dowry, her parents fixed this marriage. Bholi too agreed for this relationship for the sake of her parents.
Being a well-to-do grocer, Bishamber arrived with great pomp and splendour for the marriage which filled Ramlal’s heart with joy and happiness. All her sisters envied Bholi for having found such a rich groom and having such a grand wedding.
As the rituals began, Bishamber happened to catch sight of Bholi and upon seeing her pock-marks, demanded a dowry of five thousand rupees from Ramlal, failing which he proclaimed that he would not marry her. Humiliated and helpless, Bholi’s father begged him to not back out from the marriage and disgrace them so because that would mean that Bholi would never be able to get married to anyone else. Bound by circumstances, he however had to concede to Bishamber’s demands and pay him the sum demanded.
However, just as the groom was about to place the garland around Bholi’s neck, she stopped him and announced that she would not go through with the marriage. She asked her father to take back the dowry and despite facing opposition from her parents as well as the people who had come for the wedding, she stayed firm on her decision of not accepting Bishamber, the greedy coward, as her husband.
Her sudden outrage shocked all onlookers because the girl whom they uptill now believed to be tame and dumb like a cow, had shown a confident and bold side of her personality by standing up for herself and fighting for justice. Upon seeing her parent’s worry, she confidently assured them that her not being able to marry would not cause any problems for any of them as she would be content to live with them her whole life and serve them in their old age. She also aspired to become a teacher in the same school in which she studied and grew the wings of courage that enabled her to fly confidently towards her bright future.
In the corner, her teacher, who had been her pillar of support and strength right from her first day at school and had opened these new doors of opportunity for her, smiled in satisfaction upon seeing Bholi finally emerge as a self-assured, young woman, ready to live her life on her own terms.
Bholi | Analysis
This short story is an inspiring tale of a young girl who, with the support of her teacher, manages to break out of her shell and metamorphosize from an under-confident girl who lacked belief in herself to a courageous and bold woman who brimmed with confidence and believed that a bright future lay ahead of her.
Her story gives us hope and teaches us that no matter how adverse our circumstances are, we can always turn the situation in our favour if we have belief in ourselves. It does not matter what others think of us or our appearance, what truly matters is what we ourselves think of us. Beauty does not lie in external features but rather shines through the way one carries oneself with dignity and self respect. Bholi, through her journey of self-transformation, teaches us the true meaning of beauty and encourages all the girls to never compromise on their pride and self respect. One has all the strength one needs stored inside of them- all that is required is a guide to tap this strength.
