Gujarat Board GSEB Class 10 English Textbook Solutions Footprints Without Feet Chapter 9 Bholi Textbook Exercise Important Questions and Answers, Notes Pdf.

Gujarat Board Textbook Solutions Class 10 English Footprints Without Feet Chapter 9 Bholi

GSEB Class 10 English Bholi Text Book Questions and Answers

Read and Find Out (Textbook Page No. 54)

Question 1.
Why is Bholi’s father worried about her?
Answer:
Bholi was not like other children. She fell off a cot as a child due to which her brain l was slightly damaged. She learnt to speak very late and used to stammer. Her face and whole body was covered with pock-marks. Thus, her father was worried about her marriage prospects.

Question 2.
For what unusual reasons is Bholi sent to school?
Answer:
As Ramlal was a government official and the Tehsildar had asked Ramlal to send his daughters to the near school in his village, Bholi was sent to school just to satisfy the Tehsildar. As Randal’s wife felt that sending girls to school affected their marriage prospects adversely, slip did not want to send any of her daughters to school. However, Bholi, with her pock-marked face and dull brain would not be possible to get married anyway, so Bholi’s parents decided to send her to school to satisfy the Tehsildar.

Read and Find Out (Textbook Page No. 55)

Question 1.
Does Bholi enjoy her first day at school?
Answer:
Bholi was afraid on her first day at school. She even wept when the teacher asked her name. She just sat in a corner. But, the beautiful pictures on the classroom wall attracted her. The gentle, kind and loving manner of her teacher made her comfortable. She was looking forward to her new life by the time the first day ended. Thus, although initially, she did not enjoy it, but by the time she went home, she had liked school.

Question 2.
Does she find her teacher to be different from the people at home?
Answer:
Bholi had been a neglected child at home. She was never bathed nor her clothes washed. She was criticised and everyone made fun of her. But, she found her teacher to be entirely different. Her teacher did not make fun of her ugliness or her stammering. She encouraged her tenderly. Her affection deeply touched Bholi’s heart.

Read and Find Out (Textbook Page No. 58)

Question 1.
Why do Bholl’s parents accept Bishamber’s marriage proposal?
Answer:
Bholi’s parents accepted Bishamber’s marriage proposal as he was a well-to-do grocer from the neighbouring village and had not asked any dowry.

Question 2.
Why does the marriage not take place?
Answer:
At the time of marriage, Bishamber asked for a dowry of five thousand rupees because he saw Bholi’s pock-marked face. Radial had no choice but to pay. But, Bholi refused to marry the greedy man. She asserted her rights and dignity. Thus the marriage party was turned away.

Question 3.
How did the teacher ignite a new hope in Rholi?
Answer:
The teacher showed her affection and encouraged Bholi in a friendly manner to put aside her fear of stammering. Bholi somehow told her name. The teacher assured her that she would be able to speak like everyone else one day. Bholi was surprised. The teacher asked her to come to school regularly. Love and encouragement shown by the teacher brought out drastic changes in Bholi’s personality, within a few years, she became so confident that she refused to marry a greedy man.

Think about it

Question 1.
Bholi had many apprehensions about going to school. What made her feel that she was going to a better place than her home?
Answer:
The day she was going to school forced her parents to dress her nicely. She was bathed and her dry and matted hair was properly done. Until then she was not being taken care of. The special treatment she received made her feel that she was going to a better place.

Question 2.
How did Bholi’s teacher play an important role in changing the course of her life?
Answer:
Bholi stammered and was just a bundle of nerves when she attended school in the beginning. Her teacher treated her kindly and encouraged her to have confidence and be bold. She taught her to read and write and made her an independent girl who was aware of her rights. Thus, she changed her life.

Question 3.
Why did Bholi at first agree to an unequal match? Why did she later reject the marriage? What does this tell about her?
Answer:
Bholi agreed to the match at first to fulfil her parents’ wishes. Later on, she rejected the marriage when the bridegroom asked for dowry. This tells us that Bholi was not a timid and dumb girl. She was aware of her rights. She also knew how to fight for her own dignity and feared no one.

Question 4.
Bholi’s real name is Sulekha. We are told this right at the beginning. But only in the last but one paragraph of the story is Bholi called Sulekha again. Why do you think she is called Sulekha at that point in? the story?
Answer:
The word Bholi means a simpleton. Throughout the story, she had been a simpleton who hardly expressed her opinion on any matter, s The word Sulekha means, ‘a person with a beautiful sense of letters’. In this story, this word has a larger meaning of being a literate, intelligent and mature individual. After her education, Bholi has really changed to Sulekha s and her assertion at the time of her marriage is her announcement to the world that she is no more a Bholi, but is a Sulekha.

Talk about it

Question 1.
Bholi’s teacher helped her overcome social barriers by encouraging and motivating her. How do you think you can contribute towards changing the social attitudes illustrated in this story?
Answer:
We can contribute by saying no to taking of giving dowry. We must not discriminate between a boy and a girl. Both should be given equal rights and opportunities to grow. We must also learn to respect those who are differently-abled and treat them at par.

Question 2.
Should girls be aware of their rights and assert them? Should girls and boys have the same rights, duties and privileges? What are some of the ways in which society treats them differently? When we speak of ‘human rights, do we differentiate between girl’s rights and boy’s rights?
Answer:
Yes, there is a differentiation between girls’ and boys’ rights. Although equal in the eyes of law, society treats them differently. Parents spend more on a boy’s education than that of a girl. A girl is just trained to be a wife and mother. Boys have special privileges in matters of food, career or freedom. Girls must be aware of their rights to exercise them. They must utilise their education to preserve their self-reliance and dignity. They must be ready to demand their due and even fight for it.

Question 3.
Do you think the characters in the story were speaking to each other in English? If not, in which language were they speaking? (You can get clues from the names of the persons and the non-English words used in the story.)
Answer:
No, we do not think so. They spoke in Hindi. Several words like ‘number, tehsildar sahib, izzat and pitaji are ample proof of that. Even the names of characters like ‘Randal’ and ‘Bholi’ support that.

Bholi Summary in English

Bholi Summary:
This story is all about a simple village girl named Bholi. Her real name was Sulekha. But fate deceived her and when she was ten months old, she fell off the cot damaging some part of her brain. As a result, she could pick up speech only after she was five years old, but she stammered. Later on, when she was two years old, she had an attack of smallpox that left her with black spots all over the body. The other children often made fun of her and mimicked her. Therefore, she talked very little.

Ramlal had seven children in all – three sons and four daughters* Bholi was the youngest. All others were healthy and strong except Bholi. Bholi was seven years old when a primary school opened in their village. The tehsildar came to perform the opening ceremony of the school. He told Ramlal that as a revenue official and as a representative of the government in the village, he should send his daughter to the school and set an example before the villagers. When he consulted his wife about the issue, his wife did not agree with him. Yet she decided to send Bholi to school.

The next day, Bholi was given a bath, and a new dress to wear. Her mother matted her hair and then she was sent to school. When her father left her in school, she set in a corner in the class* When her teacher asked her name, she stammered and the children started laughing.

At this Bholi started weeping. But the teacher’s voice was soft and soothing. It encouraged her a lot and finally, she could tell her full name. Then the teacher told her that if she would come daily to school, she would speak without a stammer and one day she would become the most educated girl in the village. Then no one will dare to laugh at her. Then they will listen to her carefully.

Years passed and the village now turned into a. small town. One night Ramlal consulted his wife about the proposal made by Bishamber, a grocer in the neighbouring village. His wife readily agreed to it. Bholi was also listening to this conversation. The day of her marriage came. When the bridegroom was about to garland her, some lady pulled her veil down showing her face to him.

The bridegroom had a quick glance at her face and noticed pock-marks on her face. At this, he asked Ramlal to give him five thousand rupees as dowry in order to marry that ugly girl. After some arguments, Ramlal handed over the money to Bishambar. But Bholi asked his father to take money back from him as she did not want to marry that old, lame and greedy person.

Everybody was surprised because Bholi was not stammering at all. The bridegroom went back with his baraat Ramlal could not lift his head due to shame and grief. He asked Bholi as who will marry her now. But Bholi said to him that she would serve her parents in their old age and teach in the same school where she had learnt so much.