MADAM RIDES THE BUS:

1. What was Valli’s favourite pastime?

 Valli’s favourite pastime was to stand in the front doorway of her house watching what
was happening in the street. Watching the street gave to Valli many new unusual
experience.
2. Why did Valli shout “Proud! Proud!”?
 Valli shouted “Proud! Proud!” when she was too jealous to listen descriptions of visit to
town by one of her friends. She used the word ‘proud’ as a slang expression of
disappointment.
3. How did the desire to travel in the bus come to Valli’s mind?
 Valli was an eight years old girl. She did not have any playmate of her age. So, whenever
she got a break she used to stand in the front doorway of her house, watching what was
happening in the street outside and it gave her many new unusual experiences and
without her knowledge, a tiny wish of riding a bus began to creep into her mind.
Ultimately she made a plan to travel in the bus.
4. What did Valli see on her way that made her laugh?
 At some point of her journey by bus, Valli saw a young cow running very fast right in the
middle of the road, right in front of the bus. The bus slowed down and sounded the horn,
but the cow got more frightened and started running faster and faster. This scene made
Valli laugh.
5. What did Valli find out about the bus journey? How did she find out these details?
 Valli found out every detail of the bus journey.The bus used to travel to a town which was
six miles from the village and took thirty paise in one round. The trip took forty five
minutes to the town.
Valli found out the details by asking a few discrete questions here and there to those who
had already travelled on the bus.
6. What do you think Valli was planning?
 Valli was planning to have a bus journey secretly. She decided if she took the one o’clock
bus in the afternoon for the trip to town, she could come back home by about two-forty
five on the same bus.
7. What was a source of unending joy for Valli? What was her overwhelming desire?
 A source of unending joy for Valli was the sight of the bus that travelled between her
village and the nearest town, filled with a new set of passengers each time it passed
through her street.
 Her overwhelming desire was to ride on bus.
8. What did Valli see outside the bus while travelling to town?
 When the bus moved on Valli tried to look out but the curtain prevented her from looking
outside. So she stood up and looked out. She saw the bus going along the bank of a canal
and the road was narrow. There were plum trees, grassland, mountains and the blue sky
beyond the canal. On the other side of the road, Valli could see a deep ditch and vast
green field.
9. Give a description of the bus in which Valli travelled?
 The bus in which Valli was travelling was a new bus. The outside was white with some
green stripes. Inside, the overhead bars shone like silvers. Above the windshield there was
a clock. The seats were soft and luxurious.
10. Why did the conductor call Valli ‘Madam’?
 The conductor was a jolly person. He loved to make fun whenever he got a chance. So,
when the conductor saw Valli behaving like a lady even though she was just eight years
old girl, he addressed her as Madam.
11. Why was Valli overcome with shyness?
 Being a mere eight years girl, when Valli behaved like a lady, the conductor addressed her
as madam and showed her the front seat to sit on. When everyone in the bus looked at
her and laughed, she was overcome with shyness.
12. Why did Valli stand up on the seat?
 Valli wanted to look out- side when the bus moved on. But the curtain prevented her from
doings. So she stood on her seat to look outside.
13. Why didn’t Valli want to make friends with the elderly woman?
 Valli didn’t want to make friends with the elderly woman because she asked her questions
and irritates her, also Valli could smell betel nut the woman was chewing and the betel
juice was threatening to spill over from her lips at any time.
14. What did Valli tell the elderly person when he called her a child?
 When Valli stood up on her seat to look outside, an elderly person calling her a child asked
her to sit. She was annoyed at being called a child. She protested and said that there was
no child in the bus and moreover she had paid full fare of thirty paise to the conductor.
15. What were the temptations that Valli had to overcome while collecting her bus fare?
 The temptation that Valli had to overcome while collecting her bus fare, were riding on
the merry-go-round and buying some of her most attractive things in the village fair.
16. What were Valli’s excursions?
 Valli’s mother used to take short sleep after lunch from one to four. Valli used this time to
move about in the village or to look from the doorway of her house. These were her
excursions.
17. How did Valli save up money for her first journey? Was it easy for her?
 Valli saved up money for her first journey by observing great thrift. She saved wherever
stray coins came her way. She resisted every temptation to buy peppermints. Toys and
even a ride on the merry-go-round at the village fair so as to save sixty paise. It was a
secret trip which she had planned without informing her parents.
No, it wasn’t easy for her to save such amount of money.
18. Why did Valli not get off the bus at the bus station?
 Valli did not get off the bus at the bus station because her sole purpose was to have a bus
ride, not to visit the town. She was also afraid to get off the bus as the place was new to
her.
19. Why didn’t Valli want to go to the stall and have a drink? What does this tell you about
her?
 Valli had only sixty paise with her during the trip and she did not want to waste any
money because she had to come back by the same bus at any cost. Moreover, She was
afraid of going to the stall all alone and have a drink. Also when the conductor offered her
a cold drink she refused to take from him.
It showed her well mannered nature.
20. What made Valli sad on her way home from the town?
 On her return journey Valli saw a young cow lying dead by the side of the road. It looked
horrible with blood all over its body. Valli came to know that the dead cow was the same
cow which she had seen running in front of their bus during her first journey. The memory
of the dead cow hunted her very much. She lost all her enthusiasm and excitement. So,
she refused to look out of the window.
21. What was Valli’s deepest desire? Find out the words and phrases in the story that tell you
this.
 Valli’s deepest desire was to ride a bus that run between her village and the nearest town.
The words and phrases that tell about Valli’s desire are—the sight of the bus, the
fascinating things, a source of unending joy, listening carefully etc.
22. What kind of person was Valli?
 Valli was a girl of eight years. She was very intelligent and curious to know about various
things. She was an adventurer and was very firm in her decision, she took once.
23. Why did Valli smile to herself at the end?
 When Valli’s mother and her village aunt were talking about things happenings in their
midst without their knowledge, Vallli agreed to it and smiled. But she did not let them to
understand her smile to herself at the end.
24. How was Valli’s aunt?
 Valli’s aunt was a real chatterbox who never closed her mouth once she started talking.
She was from south street.
25. What does the author mean by ‘ slack time of day’?
 The author means that there were not many passengers riding the bus at that time.