Chapter 9 – Madam Rides the Bus Questions and Answers: NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English (First Flight (Prose))

Ques: 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.

Ques: What was the source of unending joy for Valli? What was her strongest desire?

Answer: The sight of the bus that travelled between her village and the nearest town, filled each time with a new set of passengers, was a source of unending joy for Valli. Her strongest desire was to ride the bus.

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

Answer: Valli found out that the bus journey to the town took 45 minutes and the one-way fare cost 30 paise. She listened carefully to the conversations between her neighbours and people who regularly used the bus and asked a few discreet questions here and there. This way she picked up various small details about the bus journey.

Ques: What do you think Valli was planning to do?

Answer: 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.

Ques: Why does the conductor call Valli ‘madam’?

Answer: 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.

Ques: Why does Valli stand up on the seat?

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.

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

Answer: Valli replied that there was nobody on the bus who was a child. She told her that she had paid her fare of 30 paise like

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

Answer: Valli did not want to make friends with the elderly woman because she looked quite repulsive. She had big earholes and was wearing ugly earrings. Apart from this, she was chewing betel and her mouth was also filled with betel juice.

Ques: How did Valli save money for her first journey?\Was it easy for her?

Answer: Valli had very painstakingly saved every stray coin that came her way by resisting every temptation to buy peppermints, toys, balloons, etc. It had been very difficult for her. Even at the village fair she resisted the temptation to be on the merry-go-round. Thus, she had been able to save sixty paise for her first bus journey.

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

Answer: Valli saw a young cow, tail high in the air running very fast right in the middle of the road in front of the bus. The driver sounded his horn again and again so that the cow moves away. But the more he honked, the more frightened the animal became and faster it galloped. This all seemed very funny to Valli and she laughed and laughed till there were tears in her eyes.

Ques: Why didn’t she get off the bus at the bus station?

Answer: 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. She didn’t 1 time or money to go to see the town.

Ques: Why didn’t Valli want to go to the stall have a drink? What does this tell you about her?

Answer: Valli had saved only sixty paise for the trip. She didn’t want to waste any money on the as she had to come back by the same bus at any cost. So, when the conductor suggested she get down and have a drink she refused. He offered to bring one for her but she still refused. This tells that she was a well-mannered girl.

Ques: 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’.

Ques: How did Valli plan her bus ride? What did she find out about the bus, and how did she save up the fare?

Answer: Over many days and months, Valli listened carefully to conversations between her neighbours and people who regularly used the bus and asked a few discreet questions here and there. She came to know that the town was six miles from her village, the bus fare was thirty paise and the bus trip took forty-five minutes. She also thought that if she stayed on the bus and came back by the same bus it would only cost her sixty paise. She painstaking saved each and every penny she got, resisting all temptation to buy peppermints, toys, etc and even a ride on the merry-go-round at the village annual fair so as to save sixty paise. It was a secret trip which she had planned without the knowledge of her parents.

Ques: Why does the conductor refer to Valli as ‘Madam’?

Answer: The conductor called Valli ‘Madam’ as she behaved like a grown-up and did not think that she was a child. She also refused his help and told him that she can manage on her own.

Ques: 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.

Ques: What does Valli means when she says… “I was just agreeing with you 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.

Ques: The author describes the things that Valli sees from 8 years old’s point of view. Can you find evidence from the text for his statement?

Answer: Yes, for example when the author says, ‘she was fascinated by the bus’ and ‘watching the bus filled with a new set of people each time was a source of unending joy for her’. When the author describes the bus, he stresses the colour and looks of the new bus ‘like silver’ because a child is attracted to colour. ‘The seats were soft and luxurious’. The description that the author gives when Valli looked outside is also typical of an 8-year-old. ‘The blue sky’ and ‘acres and acres of greenfield’, show the enthusiasm of a child. A cow running in front of the bus fascinated the child whereas the sight of the dead cow brought tears in her eyes and she refused to look outside the window on her return journey. This also describes the behaviour of an 8-year-old child aptly.