Bholi

1. Sulekha's Double Misfortune and the 'Bholi' Identity

Sulekha was the fourth daughter of Numberdar Ramlal, a prosperous village revenue official. From infancy, a series of tragic misfortunes marked her life:

• The Infantile Accident: When she was ten months old, she fell off a cot onto her head, damaging a portion of her brain. Consequently, she remained mentally backward and was universally nicknamed 'Bholi' (the simpleton).
• The Smallpox Scars: At two years old, an acute attack of smallpox disfigured her entire body with deep, ugly black pockmarks, sparing only her eyes.
• The Stammer: She could not speak until she was five, and when she finally learned, she stammered severely. Cruel children mimicked and laughed at her, causing her to withdraw into complete, traumatized silence.

2. The Tehsildar's Command & The First Day of School

A primary school for girls was inaugurated in the village by the Tehsildar Sahib. The Tehsildar placed an administrative mandate upon 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.'

Ramlal's wife vehemently opposed sending the older daughters, arguing that if girls went to school, no respectable man would marry them. She callously proposed a cynical compromise: send Bholi to school!

"'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!'"

On her first day, Bholi was terrified, remembering how their old cow, Lakshmi, had been led out of the house and sold. However, for the first time in her life, she was given a clean, washed dress (handed down from Champa), bathed with water, and had sweet-smelling oil rubbed into her dry, matted hair. She began to think that school was a better place than her home.

3. The Modernizing Village and the Greedy Widower

Years slipped by. The village transformed into a prosperous small town: the primary school became a high school, a cinema hall opened beneath a tin shed, and a cotton ginning mill was established. Mail trains now stopped at their railway station.

One night, Ramlal presented his wife with a marriage proposal for Bholi from Bishamber Nath:

• The Groom's Profile: A prosperous, wealthy grocer from a neighboring village with a large shop, his own house, and several thousands of rupees in the bank.
• The Disqualifications: He was about forty-five or fifty years old -- almost the same age as Ramlal himself! He walked with an awkward limp, had grown-up children from his first wife, and knew nothing about Bholi's pockmarks or mental history.
• The Parents' Rationalization: Ramlal's wife was overjoyed: 'Forty-five or fifty -- it is no great age for a man! He doesn't know about her pockmarks or her lack of sense. If we don't accept this proposal, she may remain unmarried all her life!'

Bholi listened in silent obedience, treated as a dumb cattle to be traded away without her consent.

4. The Greed at the Mandap

Bishamber arrived with a lavish marriage procession: a brass band blaring popular Hindi film tunes, a horse decorated with ribbons, and scores of relatives. Ramlal was overjoyed at the pomp. Bholi was led to the wedding altar dressed in a traditional red silk bridal sari.

As the priest called for the garland, a woman slipped back Bholi's silken veil. Bishamber looked, and saw the pockmarks clearly in the torchlight:

"'Have you seen her?' said Bishamber to the friend beside him. 'She has pockmarks on her face.'
"'What does that matter? You are not young either!' whispered the friend.
"'Maybe. But if I am to marry her, her father must give me five thousand rupees!'"

5. Voice Found: The Rejection of the Coward

When Bishamber stepped forward with the garland again after receiving the bundle of notes, Bholi's hand shot out like a bolt of lightning. The garland flew into the blazing sacred fire. She stood up, cast off her bridal veil, and spoke in a clear, loud, steady voice -- without the slightest stammer:

"'Pitaji! Take back your money! I am not going to marry this man!'
Ramlal was thunderstruck. The guests began to whisper: 'So shameless! So ugly and so shameless!'
Bholi turned violently on the old woman: 'Yes, aunty, you all thought I was a dumb, driven cow. That's why you wanted to hand me over to this heartless creature. But now the dumb cow, the stammering fool, is speaking! Do you want to hear more?'"

Bishamber and his wedding party beat a humiliated retreat. The music stopped, and the village fell into stunned silence. Ramlal bowed his head with the weight of grief and shame, asking: 'But what about you? No one will ever marry you now. What shall we do with you?'

Sulekha answered with serene, tranquil authority: