Class 10 English Chapter 9 Madam Rides the Bus Summary, Explanation, Question and Answers

Ans: Valli’s favourite pastime was to gaze at the hustle and bustle of the street.

Ans: Valli enjoyed watching the bus and its new set of passengers every time it crossed the village. It gave her a never ending joy. Her strongest desire was to travel in the bus and take a ride to the nearby town and back.

Ans: Valli found out that the town was six miles from the village and it cost thirty paise to travel one side. It took forty five minutes to reach town and the same bus could bring you back as well. Once she decided to travel by bus, even if just once, she started listening to her neighbour’s conversations about their bus rides very carefully. In the process, she would herself ask some careful questions here and there in order to enhance her knowledge about the journey.

Ans: Valli was planning secretively to fulfill her desire of travelling by bus without her mother noticing.

Ans: Well prepared and proud Valli got annoyed if someone called her a child or treated her like one. On the other hand, the bus conductor was of the joking sort and began addressing her ‘madam’ as she was grown enough, bought her ticket and could take care of herself.

Ans: Valli was short in height and thus, when she tried looking out of the window, the window blinds would come her way obstructing her outside view. Thus, she decided to stand on her seat. She saw that the bus was moving on a very narrow road. It had a canal on one side, beyond which palm trees, mountains and blue sky could be seen. On the other side, there was a deep ditch followed by greenery as far as one could see.

Ans: On being advised by a concerned old man to sit down, Valli told him that she was not a child and she could take care of herself. She told him that she was just as capable and responsible like other passengers as she had paid the fare of thirty paise for the ticket.

Ans: Valli was already annoyed with how everyone was treating her like a child. When that elderly woman came and showed concern about her, it irritated her further. Moreover, she had large holes in her earlobes with ugly earrings that Valli developed strong dislike for. The lady was chewing betel nut and it’s juice could have spilled any moment, automatically making her a less socially desirable person according to Valli.

Ans: Undoubtedly, she had put the innumerable amount of effort in planning and saving for her first ever bus journey. It was a dream ride for her. She resisted every temptation ranging from peppermints, toys, balloons to merry-go-round at the village fair. After so many efforts, she finally saved sixty paise. No, it was not easy for her.

Ans: Valli saw a cow that was running along the road and came in front of the bus. As the driver honked, it started running in front of the bus. The more the driver blew the horn, faster did it run but did not get out of the way. This was funny for Valli and she kept on laughing till she had tears in her eyes.

Ans: Valli didn’t get off the bus on reaching the town because she only boarded the bus with the intention of taking a ride to and from the nearby town. Moreover, she was too afraid to even casually have a look at her surroundings as she was all alone.

Ans: Valli was too afraid to get off the bus alone. Moreover, she didn’t have enough money to buy herself a drink. Therefore, she didn’t intend on going to the stall for a drink. This shows that Valli was a responsible and careful child who was aware that getting off the bus without an adult could get her in trouble. Moreover, as she did not have the money, she denied the treat offered by the conductor which showed that she was a mature child.

Ans: Valli’s deepest desire was to travel by bus. Words and phrases like “the most fascinating thing of all” and “source of unending joy” have been used to describe Valli’s deepest desire.

Ans: Once she decided to travel by bus, she started listening to her neighbour’s conversations about their bus rides very carefully. In the process, she would herself ask some careful questions here and there in order to enhance her knowledge about the journey. Valli found out that the town was six miles from the village and it cost thirty paise to travel one side.

It took forty five minutes to reach town and the same bus could bring you back as well. She collected the money with utmost determination. She resisted every temptation ranging from peppermints, toys, balloons to merry-go-round at the village fair. After so many efforts, she finally saved sixty paise.

Ans: When the conductor gave Valli a hand in order to help her climb the bus, Valli denied. She further denied all the help that she was being offered, because she considered herself not to be a child. Moreover, the conductor was of the joking sort and thus, started addressing Valli as a grown up ‘madam’.

Ans: The text which tells that Valli was enjoying her ride on the bus is as follows- Oh, it was all so wonderful! Suddenly Valli clapped her hands with glee. Somehow this was very funny to Valli. She laughed and laughed until there were tears in her eyes. Struck dumb with wonder, Valli gaped at everything.

Ans: On her way back to the village, Valli saw a lifeless cow lying on the road. It was the same cow that was so joyful on their journey to the town. She got devastated as to how something that was so full of life at one moment can turn into something horrible in just a blink of an eye. Thus, she sat on her seat silently after this and refused to look out of the window.

Ans: Valli agreed to her mother’s statement that things happened without our knowing about them. She meant to say that her mother was ignorant about her bus ride.

Ans: R. S. Krishnasamy is the pseudonym for Vallikannan, a Tamil journalist and writer, translator, critic, and translator from Tamil Nadu in India. Vallikannan began writing when he was just a teenager and published five books before he turned thirty. A total of 75 novels, poems collections, novellas and essays were written under the pseudonyms “Naiyandi Bharathi”, and “Koranathan”. 

For his criticisms of the modern Tamil poetry Pudhu Kavithaiyin Thotramum Valarchiyum (which means “The birth and growth in Modern Tamil Poetry”), he was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award Tamil. He also worked for magazines such as Grama Oozhiyan and Cinema Ulagam.

Ans: Vallikkannan