Class 10 English Chapter 7 Madam Rides The Bus
Summary of Class 10 English Madam Rides the Bus
Question 1:
What was Valli’s favourite pastime?
Answer
Valli’s favourite pastime was standing in the front doorway of her house and looking at the street outside.
Class 10 English Chapter 7 Madam Rides The Bus
Question 2:
What was a source of unending joy for Valli? What was her strongest desire?
Answer
A source of unending joy for Valli was the sight of the bus, filled each time with a new set of passengers. Her strongest desire was to ride the bus once.
Class 10 English Chapter 7 Madam Rides The Bus
Question 3:
What did Valli find out about the bus journey? How did she find out these details?
Answer
Valli heard conversations of her neighbours and people who regularly travelled on that bus and found out that the town was six miles from her village. The fare was thirty paise one way. The trip to the town took forty-five minutes. On reaching the town, if she stayed in her seat and paid another thirty paise, she could return home on the same bus. She also gained information by asking them a few questions.
Class 10 English Chapter 7 Madam Rides The Bus
Question 4:
What do you think Valli was planning to do?
Answer
Valli was planning to travel on that bus.
Class 10 English Chapter 7 Madam Rides The Bus
Page No. 122
Question 1:
Why does the conductor call Valli ‘madam’?
Answer
Valli is trying to behave more mature than her age. She is trying to look overconfident and smart. The conductor is amused at her behaviour and in an effort to tease her calls her ‘madam’.
Class 10 English Chapter 7 Madam Rides The Bus
Question 2:
Why does Valli stand up on the seat? What does she see now?
Answer
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, grassland, mountains, green fields and the sky.
Class 10 English Chapter 7 Madam Rides The Bus
Question 3:
What does Valli tell the elderly man when he calls her a child?
Answer
When the elderly man called her a child, Valli told him that there was nobody on the bus who was a child. She had paid her fare of thirty paise like everyone else.
Class 10 English Chapter 7 Madam Rides The Bus
Question 4:
Why didn’t Valli want to make friends with the elderly woman?
Answer
The elderly lady was chewing betel nut and the juice was about to seep out of her mouth. She had the vibes of an unrefined lady and had big earlobes with even bigger holes. Valli did not like her and was not interested to be friends with her.
Class 10 English Chapter 7 Madam Rides The Bus
Page No. 125
Question 1:
How did Valli save up money for her first journey? Was it easy for her?
Answer
Valli saved every coin that came her way. She made great sacrifices by controlling her normal childish urges of having candies, toys and joyrides. This must have been difficult for her. Kids find it very difficult to savour a candy or to enjoy a toy.
Class 10 English Chapter 7 Madam Rides The Bus
Question 2:
What did Valli see on her way that made her laugh?
Answer
When Valli saw a young cow, tail high in the air, running very fast in the middle of the road to save her life, right in front of the bus, she clapped her hands with glee. The more the bus driver honked, the more frightened the cow became and ran even faster, right in front of the bus.
Class 10 English Chapter 7 Madam Rides The Bus
Question 3:
Why didn’t she get off the bus at the bus station?
Answer
She did not get off the bus at the bus station because she had to go back on that same bus. She took out another thirty paise from her pocket and handed the coins to the conductor. She just wanted to ride on the bus.
Class 10 English Chapter 7 Madam Rides The Bus
Question 4:
Why didn’t Valli want to go to the stall and have a drink? What does this tell you about her?
Answer
Valli did not want to go to the stall and have a drink because she did not have any money for that. Even when the conductor offered her a cold drink free of charge, she refused firmly and said that she only wanted her ticket. This shows that Valli had a lot of self will and pride. Possibly, she did not want to take anything for free, particularly from a stranger.
Class 10 English Chapter 7 Madam Rides The Bus
Page No. 127
Question 1:
What was Valli’s deepest desire? Find the words and phrases in the story that tell you this.
Answer
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’.
Class 10 English Chapter 7 Madam Rides The Bus
Question 2:
How did Valli plan her bus ride? What did she find out about the bus, and how did she save up the fare?
Answer
Valli planned her bus ride by picking up various details about the bus journey. She saved every little coin she could. Thus she was able to collect the fare for the journey.
Class 10 English Chapter 7 Madam Rides The Bus
Question 3:
What kind of a person is Valli? To answer this question, pick out the following sentences from the text and fill in the blanks. The words you fill in are the clues to your answer.
(i) “Stop the bus! Stop the bus!” And a tiny hand was raised ______.
(ii) “Yes, I ______ go to town,” said Valli, still standing outside the bus.
(iii) “There’s nobody here ______,” she said haughtily. “I’ve paid my thirty paise like everyone else.”
(iv) “Never mind,” she said, “I can ______. You don’t have to help me. “I’m not a child, I tell you,” she said ____.
(v) “You needn’t bother about me. I ______,” Valli said, turning her face toward the window and staring out.
(vi) Then she turned to the conductor and said, “Well, sir, I hope ______.”
Answer
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.
(i) commandingly
(ii) simply have to
(iii) who’s a child
(iv) get on myself ; irritably
(v) can take care of myself
(vi )to see you again
Class 10 English Chapter 7 Madam Rides The Bus
Question 4:
Why does the conductor refer to Valli as ‘madam’?
Answer
Valli is trying to behave more mature than her age. She is trying to look overconfident and smart. The conductor is amused at her behaviour and in an effort to tease her calls her ‘madam’.
Class 10 English Chapter 7 Madam Rides The Bus
Question 5:
Find the lines in the text which tell you that Valli was enjoying her ride on the bus.
Answer
She laughed and laughed until there were tears in her eyes.
Class 10 English Chapter 7 Madam Rides The Bus
Question 6:
Why does Valli refuse to look out of the window on her way back?
Answer
Valli refused to look out of the window on her way back as she saw the dead body of the cow who was running towards the bus when she was going to town. This made her sad and frightened.
Class 10 English Chapter 7 Madam Rides The Bus
Question 7:
What does Valli mean when she says, “I was just agreeing with what you said about things happening without our knowledge.”
Answer
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.
Class 10 English Chapter 7 Madam Rides The Bus
Question 8:
The author describes the things that Valli sees from an eight-year-old’s point of view. Can you find evidence from the text for this statement?
Answer
The following lines show that the author describes the things from an eight-year-old’s point of view : “Trees came running towards them but then stopped ………….. in the other direction.”
Class 10 English Chapter 7 Madam Rides The Bus
