why did sukhram not want people to fell sorry for him
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Short Story: The Mountain Trail
Sukhram Lodhi sat leaning against a rock, his turban over his eyes, the warmth of the sun on his bare feet. His feet told him where he was. They knew the feel of the sand and the stones, and the different kinds of grass.
To his right a bird twittered. It seemed to Sukhram that he knew what it was saying. Because he was blind, the birds and beasts let him into their world, made him a party in it. He never spoke of this except to his brother Rajbir and his grandfather Shivpriya Chauhan. They never laughed at him for his fancies.
Sukhram was fourteen and he knew that people were sorry for him. But he thought, if only they could guess how beautiful his world was, they would envy him. Most people did not know about the little rustlings in the grass. They did not know the feel of things, round things like eggs, and water-worm stones, rough things like rocks, or of leather, or of skins. They did not know anything about smells. They went through life with blind noses.
Sukhram spent his time herding his father’s hundred goats. He knew them by the sound of their cloven hoofs on the stones by their smell. It was easy to herd goats. When Sukhram called,they came. When he played the flute, they followed him over his father’s fields and hills’ beyond.
There was less heat in the sun now. It was time to go. Sukhram got out his flute, raised it to his lips, and blew a note softly. He could feel a movement about him. The goats had raised their heads and were looking towards him. He blew again. The goats were all about him. Now he would play them down the mountain and into the shelter, and tomorrow he would lead them out again. It was a happy life.
But while he had been on the mountain that day Rani Lakshmi Bai, the queen of Jhansi, declared war on the English and was joined by the indomitable Tantia Tope. He found his father and Rajbir saddling their horses. They kissed him goodbye, their rifles pressing into his chest as they held him.
As the sound of hoofs faded into the distance, he felt his mother beside him. She put her armabout him. “What will we do now, amma?” he asked.
“We are going son. We are going to your grandfather.”
“But it will be dark there. I do not know those fields and how shall I graze my father’s goats in a strange place where it’s dark?” For the first time he knew what it was to be blind.
In the morning the horses were hitched to the wagon, and the loose, cattle and goats were collected for the fifteen kilometer trek. “Come Sukhram,” his mother said. “We are ready.”
He had a long parcel wrapped in sacking. “I ambringing my brother’s other rifle,” he said. “They say my eyes are clear and black. If anything happened to us, you could stand me right with the gun in my hand, and no one would know.”
Sukhram got up beside his mother. Suddenly he said,” I am nothing amma. I am going to a strange place that my feet do not know, and I am nothing.” As the wheels turned, he knew this more than ever.
Later he asked: “Tell me what you see amma? Can you still see the mountain where I used to graze my goats?”
When they reached there, his grandfather had gone—everyone, all the old men and the boys as well. Sukhram alone was left. There was nothing to do but wait.
Day after day it was the same, never any news. Sukhram was finding his way about his grandfather’s farm better now, but it was not home. He did not belong here.
One day some soldiers passed, tired men on tired horses. Sukhram listened. The shuffling of the horses, the sweaty smell of men, told him all that he needed to know.
“Have you seen my father or my brother?” he asked.
“Who are you?”
“I am Sukhram Lodhi,” he said. “I am blind. My father is with Tantia Tope’s army.”
“We are joining Tantia Tope. We will tell him we have seen you.”
Shortly he heard more horses coming. But these were not the horses of his people. They were heavier and were not being ridden loose reined.
He could hear the jingling of chains, the strike of metal on metal. These were English. They must be in pursuit of the tired men who had passed him earlier.
“Have you seen some soldiers pass, boy?” It was the man on the nearest horse, no doubt the officer in command.
Answer:
Explanation:
People felt sorry for Sukhram as he was blind and they thought that he must be having a hard time with this disability. But Sukhram thought that they should envy him instead of feeling sorry for him as he could only sense how beautiful the world was with his other senses. According to him most people didn't know about the soft rustlings of grass, feel of round things like eggs water-worn stones etc. and the rough things like rocks. They also didn't know anything about different smells and according to Sukhram they went about with 'blind noses'.