Madam Rides the Bus Question Answer – Class 10 English

Before You Read

Activity

1. Look at the words and phrases given below. Then put a tick against the ones you think you will find in the text.

2. You must have travelled by bus more than once. What can you see from a fast-moving bus? Given below are some suggestions. Speak briefly about some of these scenes, or about other such scenes that you have seen; or write a sentence or two about them.

rivers, green fields, hills, roadside shops, market places, railway tracks, moving trains, vehicles on the road, trees, a crowd, clothes in shops, animals

From a fast-moving bus, the world seems to rush past like a film. Green paddy fields stretch on both sides of the road, and the trees seem to run towards the bus and then race away behind it. Near the towns, small roadside tea stalls and busy market places flash by, with colourful clothes hanging in the shops. Sometimes the road runs beside the railway tracks, and a moving train races the bus for a while. On the highway near the Brahmaputra, I have seen the wide river shining in the sun and blue hills far away. Cattle and goats wander along the roadside, and the driver has to honk to move them.

Oral Comprehension Check (Page 119)

1. What was Valli's favourite pastime?

Valli's favourite pastime was standing in the front doorway of her house and watching what was happening in the street outside. She had no playmates of her own age on her street, but for her this watching was "every bit as enjoyable" as the elaborate games other children played.

2. What was a source of unending joy for Valli? What was her strongest desire?

The bus that travelled between her village and the nearest town, filled each time with a new set of passengers, was a source of unending joy for Valli. Her strongest desire was to ride on that bus, "even if just once". This tiny wish gradually grew into an overwhelming desire.

3. What did Valli find out about the bus journey? How did she find out these details?

Valli found out that the town was six miles away and the fare was thirty paise one way. The trip took forty-five minutes, and if she stayed in her seat and paid another thirty paise, she could return on the same bus. She learnt all this by listening carefully to her neighbours and regular bus users, and by asking a few discreet questions.

4. What do you think Valli was planning to do?

Valli was planning to ride the bus to the town and come back on the same bus, all by herself and without anyone knowing. She calculated that she could take the one-o'clock afternoon bus, reach the town at one forty-five and be back home by about two forty-five, while her mother was asleep.

Oral Comprehension Check (Page 122)

1. Why does the conductor call Valli 'madam'?

The conductor is a jolly man who is fond of joking. When the tiny girl stops the bus "commandingly", refuses his help to climb in and behaves like a grown-up, he finds her amusing. So he playfully calls her "madam" to tease her and to match her proud, independent manner.

2. Why does Valli stand up on the seat? What does she see now?

Valli stands up on the seat because a canvas blind covers the lower part of her window and cuts off her view. Peering over it, she sees the bus moving along the bank of a canal. On one side are the canal, palm trees, grassland, distant mountains and the blue sky; on the other side are a deep ditch and acres of green fields "as far as the eye could see".

3. What does Valli tell the elderly man when he calls her a child?

When the elderly man asks her to sit down and calls her "child", Valli is annoyed. She says haughtily, "There's nobody here who's a child. I've paid my thirty paise like everyone else." She means that since she has paid her fare like an adult, she should be treated like one.

4. Why didn't Valli want to make friends with the elderly woman?

Valli found the elderly woman "absolutely repulsive". The woman had big holes in her ear lobes with ugly earrings in them, and she was chewing betel nut whose juice seemed ready to spill over her lips. Besides, she asked too many questions about Valli travelling alone, which Valli disliked. So Valli answered curtly and turned towards the window.

Oral Comprehension Check (Page 125)

1. How did Valli save up money for her first journey? Was it easy for her?

Valli thriftily saved whatever stray coins came her way and resisted every temptation to buy peppermints, toys and balloons, until she had sixty paise. It was not easy for her. It was especially hard at the village fair, where she had to control with determination her strong desire to ride the merry-go-round, even though she had the money.

2. What did Valli see on her way that made her laugh?

Valli saw a young cow, with its tail high in the air, running very fast in the middle of the road right in front of the bus. The more the driver honked, the more frightened the cow became and the faster it galloped ahead of the bus. Valli found this so funny that she laughed until there were tears in her eyes.

3. Why didn't she get off the bus at the bus station?

Valli did not get off at the bus station because she had planned only to enjoy the bus ride and go back on the same bus. She had to return home before her mother woke up from her afternoon nap. Moreover, she was too afraid to wander about in the strange town all by herself.

4. Why didn't Valli want to go to the stall and have a drink? What does this tell you about her?

Valli refused to go to the stall because she was afraid to go alone in a strange town, and she would not let the conductor buy her a drink because she did not have enough money and did not want to accept a treat from a stranger. This shows that she was sensible, cautious and full of self-respect. She did not want to be under anyone's obligation.

Thinking about the Text

1. What was Valli's deepest desire? Find the words and phrases in the story that tell you this.

Valli's deepest desire was to ride on the bus that passed through her street between her village and the nearest town. The words and phrases that show this are:

• "a tiny wish crept into her head and grew there: she wanted to ride on that bus, even if just once."
• "This wish became stronger and stronger, until it was an overwhelming desire."
• "Valli would stare wistfully at the people who got on or off the bus…"
• "Their faces would kindle in her longings, dreams, and hopes."
• If a friend described the sights of the town after a bus ride, Valli "would be too jealous to listen" and would shout, "Proud! proud!"

2. How did Valli plan her bus ride? What did she find out about the bus, and how did she save up the fare?

Valli planned her bus ride with great care. Over many days and months she listened to the conversations of her neighbours and of people who regularly used the bus, and she asked a few discreet questions. In this way she learnt that the town was six miles away, the fare was thirty paise one way and the trip took forty-five minutes. If she stayed in her seat and paid another thirty paise, she could come back on the same bus. So she decided to take the one-o'clock bus and be home by about two forty-five, while her mother napped from one to four. To save the fare of sixty paise, she kept every stray coin she got and resisted the temptation to buy peppermints, toys or balloons. She even gave up a ride on the merry-go-round at the village fair, though she had the money.

3. What kind of a person is Valli? To answer this question, pick out the following sentences from the text and fill in the blanks. The words you fill in are the clues to your answer.

(i) "Stop the bus! Stop the bus!" And a tiny hand was raised commandingly.

(ii) "Yes, I simply have to go to town," said Valli, still standing outside the bus.

(iii) "There's nobody here who's a child," she said haughtily. "I've paid my thirty paise like everyone else."

(iv) "Never mind," she said, "I can get on by myself. You don't have to help me." "I'm not a child, I tell you," she said, irritably.

(v) "You needn't bother about me. I can take care of myself," Valli said, turning her face toward the window and staring out.

(vi) Then she turned to the conductor and said, "Well, sir, I hope to see you again."

These clues show that Valli is a confident, bold and determined girl. She is independent and self-reliant, and does not want anyone's help. She has strong self-respect and wants to be treated as a grown-up, so she gets irritated when called a child. At the same time she is polite and good-natured, as her friendly farewell to the conductor shows.

4. Why does the conductor refer to Valli as 'madam'?

The conductor calls Valli "madam" because she behaves like a grown-up lady and he finds this amusing. She stops the bus with a commanding wave, insists on travelling alone, refuses his hand and climbs in by herself, and declares that she has paid her fare like everyone else. Being a jolly man fond of joking, he teases her by calling her "my fine madam" and asks the passengers to "make way for madam". The title is playful, but it also shows his affection for the brave little girl.

5. Find the lines in the text which tell you that Valli was enjoying her ride on the bus.

• "Valli devoured everything with her eyes."
• "So she stood up on the seat and peered over the blind."
• "Oh, it was all so wonderful!"
• "Suddenly Valli clapped her hands with glee."
• "She laughed and laughed until there were tears in her eyes."
• "Struck dumb with wonder, Valli gaped at everything."
• "Valli wasn't bored in the slightest and greeted everything with the same excitement she'd felt the first time."

6. Why does Valli refuse to look out of the window on her way back?

On her way back, Valli sees the same young cow that had run in front of the bus lying dead by the roadside, struck by some fast-moving vehicle. The lovable, beautiful creature that had made her laugh now looks "so horrible, so frightening", with its legs spread out, a fixed stare in its lifeless eyes and blood all over. She is overcome with sadness. The memory of the dead cow haunts her and dampens her enthusiasm, so she no longer wants to look out of the window and sits "glued to her seat" till she reaches her village.

7. What does Valli mean when she says, "I was just agreeing with what you said about things happening without our knowledge."

Valli's mother tells her aunt that so many things happen around us that we cannot know about everything, and even when we know, we often cannot understand them completely. Valli agrees because these words fit her own experience. Her mother does not know that Valli has just been to the town and back; it happened without her knowledge. Valli has also seen the dead cow and has come face to face with death, something she knows about but cannot fully understand. So her remark has a double meaning, which the adults miss completely.

8. The author describes the things that Valli sees from an eight-year-old's point of view. Can you find evidence from the text for this statement?

Yes, the author describes everything through the eyes of a child. A few examples are:

• The bus "seemed on the point of gobbling up another vehicle that was coming towards them or a pedestrian crossing the road."
• "Trees came running towards them but then stopped as the bus reached them and simply stood there helpless for a moment by the side of the road before rushing away in the other direction."
• She finds the cow running before the bus so funny that she laughs till tears come to her eyes.
• The train appears as "a speck" that grows "bigger and bigger as it drew near".
• In the town she is amazed: "Such big, bright-looking shops! What glittering displays of clothes and other merchandise! Such big crowds!"
• She judges the elderly woman by her big ear-lobe holes, ugly earrings and betel juice, as a child would.

Only a child sees trees running and buses gobbling vehicles, so these details prove the statement.

Speaking

This story has a lot of people talking in it. The conductor jokes and laughs with Valli, some passengers try to show their concern for her, and her mother and her aunt spend time chatting. Read the conversations carefully. Then think of similar people, or similar situations that you have experienced. Mimic a person or persons who spoke to you, saying what they said, along with your replies.

Model (a bus journey from Nagaon to Guwahati):

Conductor (loudly, waving the tickets): "Guwahati, Guwahati! Come on, young sir, jump in. The bus won't wait for your morning dreams!"

Me: "I'm not dreaming, Dada. Here's my fare. Please give me a window seat."

Conductor (with a wink): "Window seat for the VIP! Everybody, make way for the big officer."

An elderly lady next to me: "Are you going alone, baba? Does your mother know? Keep your bag on your lap, there are pickpockets."

Me: "Yes, Aita, my uncle will meet me at the bus stand. I'll be careful, thank you."

Conductor (at the stop): "Officer sahib, your station has come. Don't forget us when you become a big man!"

Me (laughing): "I won't, Dada. See you next time."

Tip: when you mimic, change your voice, speed and gestures for each person, the loud, joking conductor and the soft, worried old lady, so the listeners can tell who is speaking.

Writing

Write a page — about three paragraphs — on one of the following topics.

1. Have you ever planned something entirely on your own, without taking grown-ups into your confidence? What did you plan, and how? Did you carry out your plan?

Last year, I decided to give my mother a surprise on her birthday. I did not tell anyone at home, not even my elder sister, because I wanted it to be completely my own work. I planned to bake a small cake and make a handmade card with a poem in it.

For two months I saved the coins I got for bus fare by walking to school on fine days. I secretly watched cooking videos at my friend's house and wrote down a simple recipe. I bought flour, sugar and a little cocoa from the corner shop and hid them under my bed. In the evenings, while pretending to do homework, I drew the card and wrote a short poem about my mother's smile.

On her birthday, my mother went to the temple in the morning, and I used that hour to bake the cake in our pressure cooker. It came out a little burnt at the bottom, but when she returned and saw the cake and the card on the table, her eyes filled with tears. My plan worked, and I learnt that careful planning and patience can make even a small idea very special.

2. Have you made a journey that was unforgettable in some way? What made it memorable?

The most unforgettable journey of my life was a trip by ferry across the Brahmaputra to Majuli with my grandfather during the winter holidays. I had seen the river many times from the bridge, but I had never travelled on it.

The ferry was crowded with people, bicycles, sacks of rice and even two motorcycles. As it moved, the cold wind hit my face and the water spread so wide that the far bank looked like a thin grey line. Grandfather pointed out river dolphins rising and sinking in the water, and fishermen in tiny boats. On Majuli we visited a satra, watched the monks prepare for a bhaona and ate hot pitha at a village house.

What made the journey memorable was not just the river but the time I spent with my grandfather. He told me stories of the floods he had seen as a boy and of how the island was slowly shrinking. That day I understood both the beauty and the power of our great river, and I still remember every moment of it.

3. Are you concerned about traffic and road safety? What are your concerns? How would you make road travel safer and more enjoyable?

Yes, I am deeply concerned about traffic and road safety. Every day newspapers report accidents in which people lose their lives because of carelessness. On the highways near my town, trucks and buses speed recklessly, young riders zoom past without helmets, and many people talk on mobile phones while driving.

My main concerns are overspeeding, drunken driving, overloading of vehicles and the lack of footpaths and zebra crossings for pedestrians. Stray cattle on the roads, like the young cow in the story, also cause accidents. Poorly lit roads and potholes make night travel even more dangerous, especially in the rainy season.

To make road travel safer, traffic rules must be strictly enforced, with heavy fines for speeding and for driving without helmets or seat belts. Road safety should be taught in schools, and every town needs proper footpaths, speed breakers near schools and working traffic signals. If drivers are patient and courteous, and roadsides are kept clean and green, road travel can become not only safer but also truly enjoyable.

In This Lesson — What You Can Do

1. Collect old (used) tickets — bus, train, plane, cinema, cultural events — and make a collage on poster paper. Classify the tickets (by type, price, most desirable, the ones no one wants, etc.) and write a paragraph with the collage as base and your imagination as guide.

Sample classification:

Sample paragraph: My collage is a map of many journeys. A faded city-bus ticket of ten rupees reminds me of my first ride to school alone. A long train ticket from Guwahati to Delhi brings back the smell of tea at every station. A cinema ticket, torn at the edge, recalls three hours of laughter with my cousins, while a museum ticket from Kolkata reminds me of the dinosaur skeleton that made me gasp. Each small piece of paper holds a big memory, just as Valli's thirty-paise ticket held her first adventure.

2. (i) In the story Valli has to save money and make plans to be able to ride the bus. In pairs, discuss how you spent your pocket money last month. Did you spend it on yourself, or on someone dear to you?

Sample discussion:

Student A: "Last month I got two hundred rupees. I spent eighty on a storybook and saved the rest. What about you?"

Student B: "I spent most of mine on a birthday gift for my little brother, a box of colour pencils. I kept only thirty rupees for snacks."

Student A: "That's kind. Next month I want to save enough to buy a gift for my grandmother too."

(ii) Valli's enthusiasm is dampened and the memory of the dead cow haunts her. In groups, discuss an incident which may have troubled or discouraged you.

Sample answer: Once, on my way to school, I saw a puppy hit by a motorbike. The rider did not even stop. I had been excited about a quiz competition that day, but the picture of the injured puppy stayed in my mind, and I could not concentrate. Like Valli, I felt that the joy of the day had gone. Later, my friends and I took the puppy to a vet, and it recovered. That incident taught me to be careful on roads and to help when someone, even an animal, is in trouble.