Madam Rides the Bus
Class 10 English First flight Chapter 9 Madam Rides the Bus
Oral Comprehension Check
Page 119
Q.1 What was Valli’s Favourite pastime?
Ans. Valli’s favourite pastime was standing in the front doorway of her house and looking at the street outside.
Q.2 What was the source of unending joy for Valli? What was her strong desire?
Ans. The sight of the bus 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 the bus.
Q.3 What did Valli find out about the bus journey? How did she find these details?
Ans. Valli found out that the bus journey to the town took 45 minutes and the one-way fair cost 30 paisa. She listened carefully to the conversation between her neighbors and people who regularly use the bus and ask a few discreet questions here and there. This way she picked up various small details about the bus journey.
Q.4 What do you think Valli was planning to do?
Ans. Valli was planning to go to the town and then return back by the same bus. The fair was 30 paisa one way and the ride took forty-five minutes. In this way, she planned that she would be back by 2:45 p.m. if she took the bus at 1:00 p.m.
Page 122
Q.1 Why does the conductor call Valli ‘madam’?
Ans. The conductor called Valli ‘madam’ because she behaved like a woman. She declined his help and was very quick in her answers to the conductor’s questions.
Q.2 Why does Valli stand on the seat?
(or)
What does she see now?
Ans. Valli wanted to look outside the bus. She found her view blocked by the canvas blind that covered the lower part of the window. In order to have a better view she stood up on the seat and peered over the blind. She saw a canal, palm trees, grasslands, mountains, green fields and the sky.
Q.3 What does Valli tell the elderly man when he calls her a child?
Ans. Valli replied that there was nobody in the bus who was a child. She told her that she had paid her fair of 30 paisa like.
Q.4 Why didn’t Valli want to make friends with the elderly woman/
Ans. Valli did not wanted to make friends with the elderly woman because she looked quite repulsive. She had big earholes and was wearing ugly earrings. Apart from this, she was chewing betel and her mouth also filled with betel juice.
Page 125
Q.1 How did Valli save money for her first journey? Was it easy for her?
Ans. Valli had very painstakingly saved every stray coins that came her way by resisting every temptations to buy peppermints, toys, balloons, etc. It had been very difficult for her. Even at the village fair she resisted the temptation to be on the merry-go-round. Thus,she had been able to save sixty paisa for her first bus journey.
Q.2 What did Valli see on her way that made her laugh?
Ans. Valli saw a young cow, tail high in the air running very fast right in the middle of the road in front of the bus. The driver sounded his horn again and again so that the cow moves away. But the more he honked, the more frightened animal became and faster in galloped. This all seemed very funny to Valli and she laughed and laughed till there were tears in her eyes.
Q.3 Why didn’t she get off the bus at the bus station/
Ans. Valli had planned that she only wanted to tide on the bus. She would spend thirty paise on her fair, go to the town and come back the same bus before her mother woke up. She didn’t 1 time or money to go to see the town.
Q.4 Why didn’t Valli want to go to the stall have a drink? What does this tell you about her?
Ans. Valli had saved only sixty paise for the trip. She didn’t want to waste any money on the drink as she had to come back by the same bus at any cost. So, when the conductor suggested her to get down and have a drink she refused. He brought one for her but she still refused. This shows that she was a well-mannered girl.
Thinking about the Text
(Page 127)
Q.1 What was Valli’s deepest desire? Find the words and the phrases in the story that tell you this.
Ans. Valli’s deepest desire was to go on a bus ride. The words and phrases in the story that tell this are ‘source of unending joy’, ‘stare wistfully’, and ‘kindle in her longings, dreams and hopes’.
Q.2 How did Valli planned her bus drive? What did she find out about the bus, how did she save up the fair?
Ans. Over many days and months, Valli listened carefully to conversation between her neighbors and people who regularly use the bus and asked a few discreet questions here and there. She came t know that the town was six miles from her village, the bus fare was thirty paisa and the bus trip took forty-five minutes. She also thought that if she stayed in the bus and came back by the same bus it would only cost her sixty paisa. She painstaking saved each and every penny she got, resisting all temptation to buy peppermints, toys, etc. and even a ride on the merry-go-round at the village annual fair so as to save sixty paisa. It was a secret trip which she had planned without the knowledge of her parents.
Q.3 What kind of person is Valli? To answer this question, pick out the following sentences front the text and fill in the blanks. The words you fill in are the clues to your answer.
Ans. Valli was a confident girl who did not think that her age was a limitation to her travelling alone to the town. She considered herself a grown up and acted like one.
Q.4 Why does the conductor refer to Valli as ‘madam’?
Ans. The conductor called Valli ‘Madam’ as she behaved like a grown up and did not think that she was a child. She also refused his help and told him that she can manage on her own.
Q.5 Find the lines in the text which tell you that Valli was enjoying her ride int the bus.
Ans. Valli thoroughly enjoyed her ride in the bus. The following lines from the text tell us about it. She saw so many things on her way-a-canal, palm trees grasslands, distant mountains. “Oh, it was all so wonderful”, that’s what she felt. “Sometimes the bus seemed in the point of gobbling up another vehicle that was coming towards them or a pedestrian crossing the road. Somehow it passed smoothly, leaving all obstacles behind and then she saw a cow running very fast, infront of the bus. This all seemed very funny to Valli and she laughed and laughed till tears flowed from her eyes”.
Q.6 Why does Valli refused to look out of the window in her way back?
Ans. Valli refused to look out of the window on her way back as she saw the dead body of the cow who was running very fast towards the bus when she was going to the town. This made her sad and frightened.
Q.7 What does Valli means when she says… “I was just agreeing with you what you said about things happening without our knowledge”.
Ans. While making this statement, Valli was trying to hide the fact about her bus ride. She was also feeling elated at making a successful attempt at her plan.
Q.8 The author describes the things that Valli sees from an 8-year old’s point of view. Can you find evidence from the text from his statement?
Ans. Yes, for example when the author says, ‘She was fascinated by the bus’ and ‘watching the bus fill with a new set of people each time was a source of unending joy for her’. When the author describes the bus, he stresses on the color and look of the new bus ‘like silver’ because a child is attracted towards color. ‘the seats were soft and luxurious.’ The description that the author gives when Valli looked outside are also typical of a 8-year old. ‘The blue sky’ and ‘acres and acres of green field’, show the enthusiasm a child. A cow running in front of the bus fascinated the child whereas the sight of dead cow brought tears in her eyes and she refused to look outside the window on her return journey. This also describes the behavior of an 8-year old child aptly.
Writing
(page 128)
Q.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?
Ans. It was during my summer vacations. I wanted to buy a special birthday for my mother. So, I roped in my younger sister I my plan celebrate her birthday. We saved our pocket money and didn’t go for our weekly outings for some time. I this way, we were able to save five hundred rupees for the birthday party. Now, we had to arrange everything without our mother’s knowledge. On her birthday we pretended as if we didn’t remember her birthday at all. Instead we requested our father to take her to the market. In the meantime, we arranged everything like cake, decoration, flowers and even invited two of her best friends. When she came back she was surprised. It was the best birthday she ever had in her life.
Q.2 Have you made a journey that was unforgettable in some way? What made it memorable?
Ans. I have gone o many trips and excursions, but one journey which I can’t forget is my trip to Hemkund and Badrinath. The scenery over there was mesmerising and as you live Delhi, you enjoy cool fresh air and see breath taking lush green fields. The bus ride takes you on winding narrow roads, with river flowing on one side and mountains on the other side. To reach Hemkund Sahib, one has to travel 14 kms by foot. Everywhere there are crowds