Chapter 9: Madam Rides the Bus

Textbook Questions and Answers

I. Oral Comprehension Check (Page 118)

1. What was Valli’s favourite pastime?

   Valli's favourite pastime was standing in the doorway of her house and watching what was happening on the street outside.

2. What was a source of unending joy for Valli? What was her strongest 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 new sets of passengers each time. Her strongest desire was to ride on that bus.

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 from her village, the bus fare was thirty paise one way, and the journey took forty-five minutes. She found out these details by listening carefully to the conversations of her neighbours and people who regularly used the bus, and by asking a few discreet questions.

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

   Valli was planning to take a bus ride to the town and then return home on the same bus, all by herself, during her mother's afternoon nap.

II. Oral Comprehension Check (Page 120)

1. Why does the conductor call Valli ‘madam’?

   The conductor calls Valli 'madam' because of her mature behavior, her confident and determined manner of speaking, her insistence on paying her fare herself, and her refusal to accept help or sit down, all of which were unusual for an eight-year-old.

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

   Valli stands up on the seat because her view of the outside was blocked by a canvas blind that covered the lower part of the window. When she stood up, she could see over the blind. She saw the bare, treeless road, the distant mountains, the deep ditch, and the green fields stretching as far as her eye could see.

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

   When the elderly man calls her a child and asks her to sit down, Valli tells him curtly that there's nobody on the bus who is a child, and she has paid her thirty paise like everyone else, implying she should be treated as an adult passenger.

4. 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 found her repulsive. The woman had big earlobes with ugly earrings, was chewing betel nut, and the betel juice was about to trickle out of her mouth, making Valli dislike her appearance and habits.

III. Oral Comprehension Check (Page 124)

1. How did Valli react when she saw the dead cow on the road?

   Valli reacted with sadness and disappointment when she saw the dead cow. The joy and excitement she had felt earlier when seeing the lively cow vanished. The sight of the lifeless, crumpled cow filled her with a sense of melancholy and made her think about life and death.

2. What does this tell you about Valli?

   This tells us that Valli is a sensitive and observant child who is beginning to grasp the deeper realities of life. Her reaction shows that she is not just an innocent child enjoying a ride but is also capable of understanding the impermanence of life and death, indicating a moment of significant growth and maturity.

IV. Thinking about the Text (Page 124)

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. Phrases and words that tell us this include: "The sight of the bus, filled with a new set of passengers each time it passed, was a source of unending joy for Valli," "Day after day she watched the bus, and gradually a tiny wish crept into her head and grew there: she wanted to ride on that bus," and "Over and over she watched the bus... her strongest desire was to ride on that bus."

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

   Valli saved money for her first journey by carefully resisting temptations. She sacrificed buying peppermints, toys, balloons, and even a ride on the merry-go-round at the village fair. She rigorously controlled her urges to spend on these small pleasures. No, it was not easy for her; the text implies a struggle when it says, "it had been a painstaking process" to save the money.

3. What did Valli see on her way to town that amused her? What did she see on her way back that saddened her?

   On her way to town, Valli was greatly amused by a young cow that was running right in the middle of the road, in front of the bus, with its tail high in the air. The sight of the cow acting so playfully and causing the driver to honk made her laugh heartily. On her way back, the same cow that had amused her earlier was lying dead by the roadside, a lifeless and crumpled heap, having been hit by another vehicle. This sight deeply saddened her.

4. What does the conversation between Valli and her mother and aunt tell you about Valli?

   The conversation between Valli and her mother and aunt at the end of the story tells us that Valli has gained a newfound maturity and understanding of the world, which her mother and aunt are completely unaware of. When her aunt remarks about "things happening without our knowledge," Valli agrees, implying a deeper understanding that comes from her recent experience. This shows she has absorbed significant life lessons from her journey, far beyond what an eight-year-old usually would, and she keeps her secret adventure to herself, further emphasizing her growing self-reliance and discretion.