Madam Rides the Bus

What was Valli’s favourite pastime?

Answer explanation

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

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

Answer explanation

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 the street near her house was a source of unending joy for Valli. Her strongest desire was to take a ride on the bus someday.

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

Answer explanation

Valli found out that the bus journey to the town from her village was six miles and took approximately forty-five minutes. The fare for a one-way journey cost 30 paise. She listened to the conversations carefully between her neighbours and the people who regularly took the bus trip and asked a few questions to gain some information and small details about the bus journey.

What do you think Valli was planning to do?

Answer explanation

Valli was planning to travel on the bus and go to the town and return home on the same bus. She heard the onward journey fare was thirty paise that took approximately forty-five minutes to reach the town. In this way, she planned to stay in her seat and pay another thirty paise for the return trip. This meant that she could take the one o’clock afternoon bus, reach the town at 1.45 p.m. and return home by 2.45 p.m.

Why does the conductor call Valli ‘madam’?

Answer explanation

The conductor called Valli ‘madam’ because she was behaving like a woman in an audacious and smart manner. She did not accept his help to get on the bus and was very quick in replying to the conductor’s questions. Amused by her antics and behaviour, the conductor teased her by calling her ‘madam’.

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

Answer explanation

Valli was enchanted by the view of the beautiful scenery outside the bus and was trying hard to look outside. But her view was blocked by the canvas blind that covered the lower part of the window. In order to catch a better glimpse, she stood up on the seat and peered over the blind. She saw the narrow road as the bus was going along the bank of a canal, palm trees, grassland, distant mountains, green fields and the blue sky. On the other side, there was a deep ditch, and many acres of green fields stretched far and wide as much as her eyes could see.

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

Answer explanation

When the elderly man on the bus referred to Valli as a child, she instantly replied that there was nobody on the bus who was a child. She further stated that she had paid her fare of thirty paise like other passengers on the bus.

Why didn’t Valli want to make friends with the elderly woman?

Answer explanation

Valli was not interested in making friends with the elderly woman because she looked quite repulsive to her. She had big earlobes with bigger holes and wore ugly earrings. Besides, she was also chewing betel nut, and her mouth was also filled with betel juice that was likely to spill all over her lips. Seeing all this, Valli thought that the elderly woman was not sociable enough to be friends with.

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

Answer explanation

Valli had saved every stray coin meticulously that came her way. She resisted every temptation to buy peppermints, toys, balloons, etc., to save enough money for the bus trip. It had been really difficult for her as she had to control her urges and resist the temptation to be on the merry-go-round in the village fair. After making a lot of sacrifices, she was able to save sixty paise for her first bus journey.

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

Answer explanation

Valli was overjoyed upon seeing a young cow, tail high in the air, running very fast right in the middle of the road just in front of the bus. The driver sounded his horn loudly repeatedly so that the cow moved away from the path. But the more he honked, the cow became more frightened and galloped as fast as possible. Seeing all this, it appeared very funny to Valli, and she laughed out loud until tears rolled down her eyes.