MADAM RIDES THE BUS
Vallikkannan
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| Madam Rides the Bus, www.hikha.in |
Oral
Comprehension Check
Q1. What was Valli’s favourite pastime?
Ans: Valli’s favourite pastime was standing in the front doorway
of her house, watching what was happening in the street outside.
Q2. What was the source of unending joy for
Valli? What was her strongest desire?
Ans: The source of unending joy for Valli was the sight of the bus
that always travelled between her village and the nearest town, filled each
time with a new set of passengers.
Her
strongest desire was to ride on that bus, which travelled between her village
and the nearest town through her street each time.
Q3. What did Valli find out about the bus
journey? How did she find these details?
Ans: Valli found out much more about the bus journey. She came to
know that the town was six miles away from her village. The trip to the town
took forty-five minutes and the fare was thirty paise one way. She also knew
that on reaching town, if she stayed in her seat and paid another thirty paise,
she could return home on the same bus. She came to know all these details by
listening carefully to the conversations between her neighbours and the people
who regularly used the bus. Besides, she also knew something more by asking
some questions here and there.
Q4. What do you think Valli was planning to do?
Ans: I think Valli was planning to go to the town and then return
back by the same bus. The fare was 30 paise one way and the ride took forty
five minutes. In this way, she planned that she would be back by 2:45 pm if she
took the bus at 1:00 pm.
Q5. 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. This made the conductor call him madam.
Q6. Why does Valli stand up on the seat? What
does she see now?
Ans: After getting on the bus, when Valli started to look outside,
she found her view cut off by a canvas blind that covered the lower part of her
window. So, she stood up on the seat and peered over the blind.
On the
way to town, Valli saw that the bus was going along the bank of a canal. The
road was very narrow. On one side she saw that there was the canal and beyond
it, palm trees, grass land, distant mountain and the blue sky. On the other
side, she saw a deep ditch and then acres of green fields as far as the eye
could see.
Q7. What does Valli tell the elderly man when
he calls her a child?
Ans: When the elderly man honestly calls Valli a child and advises
her to sit down on her own seat then Valli was annoyed by the attention of the
elderly man. She replies that there is nobody who is a child. Because she also
paid thirty paise as the fare like everyone else.
Q8. Why didn’t Valli want to make friends with
the elderly woman?
Ans: Valli didn’t want to make friend with the elderly woman.
Because Valli saw that the elderly woman was absolutely repulsive. The woman
had big holes in her earlobes where she used ugly earrings. Valli could smelt
the betel nut that the woman was chewing and saw the betel juice that was
threatening to spill over her lips at any moment.
Q9. How did Valli save
money for her first journey? Was it easy for her?
Ans: Valli was so careful to save money for her first journey. She
had thriftily saved whatever stray coins came to her way, resisting every
temptation to buy peppermints, toys, ballons and the like. In this way, finally
she had save a total of sixty paise.
No, it was not easy for her
particularly on that day at the village fair. Though she had strong desire to
ride on the merry-go-round, even though she had the money, she kept herself
away from doing so.
Q9. What did Valli see on
her way that made her laugh?
Ans: When Valli was on her way to the nearest town she saw a young
cow whose tail was high in the air running very fast right on the middle of the
road, right in front of the bus. Seeing this, the driver slowed the bus and
sounded his horn loudly again and again. But the more he honked, the more
frightened, the animal kept running faster and faster always right in front of
the bus. This is the sight that Valli saw on her way and made her laugh.
Q10. Why didn’t she/Valli get off the bus at
the bus station?
Ans: Valli didn’t get off the bus at the bus station. Because
Valli had planned that she only wanted to ride on the bus. She would spend
thirty paise on her fare, go to the town and then come back by the same bus
before her mother woke up.
Q11. Why didn’t Valli want go to the stall have
a drink? What does this tell you about her?
Ans: Valli didn’t want go to the stall have a drink. Because she
did not want to get off the bus and besides, at that time she didn’t have any
money with her. Even when the conductor himself wanted to bring her a cold
drink for free chare, she directly refused to his proposal. This showed that
she was a well-mannered girl.
Thinking About The Text
Q1. What was Valli’s deepest desire? Find the
words and phrases in the story that tell you this.
Ans: Valli’s deepest was to riding on the bus. The words and
phrases in the story that tell us these are given below:
“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, even if just once. This wish became
stronger and stronger. Until it was overwhelming desire. Valli would stare
wistfully at the people who got on or off the bus when it stopped at the street
corner.”
Q2. How did Valli plan her bus ride? What did
she find out about the bus, and how did she save up the fare?
Ans: Valli planned her bus ride that she could take the one O’
clock afternoon bus, reach the town at one forty-five, and back home by about
two forty-five.
She found out
about the bus journey that the fare was thirty paise in one way. The trip to the
town took forty-five minutes. On reaching town, if she stayed on her seat and
paid another thirty paise, she could return home on the same bus. She had known
all these details about the bus journey by listening carefully to the
conversations between her neighbours and the people who regularly used the bus.
Besides, she also knew something more by asking some questions here and there.
She saved up
the fare for her first bus journey very carefully. She had thriftily saved
whatever stray coins came to her way, resisting every temptation to buy
peppermints, toys, ballons and the like. Thus, finally she had saved a total of
sixty paise.
Q3. Why does Valli refuse to look out of the
window on her way back?
Ans: Valli refused to look out of the window on her way back home.
Because on her way back home, she saw a young cow lying dead by the road side. She
came to know from the conductor that the cow had been strucked by some
fast-moving vehicle. Seeing this, valli was overcome with sadness. Though the
bus was running on, the memory of the dead cow haunted her, for which she no
longer wanted to look out of the window.
Additional Q&A
Q1. How much time would the trip to the town
take?
Ans: The trip to the town took forty-five minutes.
Q2. How far was the town from the village?
Ans: The town was six miles far from the village.
Q3. What was the fare of the bus in one way?
Ans: The fare of the bus was thirty paise in one way.
Q4. What is the full name of Valli?
Ans: The full name of Valli is Valliammai and she is eight years
old.
Q5. What gave her (Valli) many new unusual
experiences?
Ans: Standing at the front doorway, Valli watched what was
happening in the street outside. Watching the street gave her many unusual
experiences.
Q6. What sort of wish came into Valli’s mind?
Ans: A tiny wish came into Valli’s mind. This wish became stronger
and stronger and that was the wish of riding on the bus.
Q7. When would Valli be Zealous?
Ans: If someone told Valli about her/his bus journey and tried to
describe the sight of the town, Valli would be too Zealous to listen.
Q8. Who is the writer of the prose-piece?
Ans: Vallikkannan.
Q9. Who was Valliammai?
Ans: Valliammai was an eight years old girl. She was also known as
Valli.
Q10. Did Valli have playmates of her own age?
Ans: No, Valli didn’t have playmates of her own age.
Q11. What was the English turn Valli used when
she became zealous?
Ans: When Valli became zealous, she used an English turn that was
“Proud! Proud!”
Q12. What did Valli listen carefully over many
days?
Ans: Over many days and months, Valli listened carefully to the
conversations between her neighbours and the people who regularly used the bus.
Q13. How did the bus-conductor address Valli?
Ans: The bus-conductor address Valli as ‘madam’.
Q14. When did everybody in the bus laugh?
Ans: When Valli sought her ticket from the conductor using phrase
‘please remembered that, and you’ve not yet given me my ticket.’ Then the
conductor replied following her phrase like ‘I’ll remember’ to Valli. Hearing
this, everybody in the bus laughed.
Q15. When did Valli clap her hand with glee?
Ans: When Valli saw a young cow whose tail was high in the air
running very fast right in front of the bus, she clapped her hands with glee.
Q16. How did the cow die?
Ans: As Valli came to know from the conductor, the cow had been
strucked by some fast-moving vehicles.
Q17. How was Valli different from other
children?
Ans: Other children of her age enjoyed playing games while she
enjoyed watching the street.
Q18. What type of man the conductor was? Why
was Valli everyone’s eyes?
Ans: The conductor was a jolly man and he was fond of joking.
Valli was avoiding everyone’s eyes because she felt that all passengers were
laughing at her. Valli was overcome with shyness and tried to avoiding
everyone’s eyes.
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LESSONS(FIRST FLIGHT)
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CLICK HERE FOR NOTES |
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A LETTER TO GOD
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NELSON MANDELA:LONG WALK TO FREEDOM |
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A TIGER IN THE ZOO
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MADAM RIDES THE BUS
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ANIMALS
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GLIMPSE OF INDIA: COORG
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GLIMPSE OF INDIA: TEA FROM ASSAM |
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THE TALE OF CUSTARD THE DRAGON |
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FOG
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AMANDA
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