Interpretation (2)
Describe the experience of the narrator in the bus in your own words.
Answers
Answer:
Madam Rides the Bus - Introduction
The lesson “Madam Rides the Bus” is about a brave eight year old who had a strong desire and along with it, the courage to fulfill it. She liked gazing at the hustle and bustle of the street and her favourite part was the sight of a bus arriving and departing. Thus, she developed a deep desire to travel by bus. For that, she needed all sorts of information about the bus journey, collect the bus fare and then plan it so that she could be back at home before her mother woke up from her afternoon nap. Thus, the story brings us recounts of how innocently but responsibly she fulfilled her deepest desire and her experiences on the bus ride. How an incident makes her realize the reality of death.
Madam Rides the Bus - Summary
The lesson is about an eight year old girl named Valli, who did not have friends to play with and so she would spend her time by looking at the outside affairs going on the street. Her favourite part was to look at the bus that passed by her village every hour. It gave her endless joy to look at the new set of passengers each time the bus crossed by. Gradually, even she wished to travel by bus. Soon, the wish turned into a desire and therefore, she made it her mission to fulfill it. She started listening to the conversations between her neighbours who frequently travelled by bus and in the process, would ask a few careful questions here and there to collect more information. Just like this, she knew that the town is six miles away from her village and it took the bus forty five minutes to travel one side. One-sided fare was thirty paise making it sixty for a back and forth ride. Therefore, she started planning and re-planning so that she could sneak out during her mother’s afternoon nap and come back without her knowing anything. She needed to save the money which was not easy as she had to resist the temptation of candy, peppermint and merry-go-round. Finally, she saved enough money and one fine day, the brave eight year old took the bus during it’s not very busy hours. She refused to take any help from the conductor or fellow passengers. It was an amusing sight for everyone to see such a small girl all alone acting like an adult. The conductor was of the joking sort and thus, referred to Valli as a grown up ‘madam’. Short-heighted Valli would stand on her seat to be able to see clearly from the window while everyone advised her to sit for her own safety. Each time someone would poke their nose in her business, Valli would get annoyed as she did not consider herself a child. She did not want to be friends with an elderly lady who was worried about her because she thought she was not socially-capable enough. She enjoyed seeing what was going on outside and the sight of a running cow in the middle of a road was abruptly a funny scenario for her. Upon reaching the town, she refused to get down the bus because she was too afraid to do so alone. While returning, she carried extreme enthusiasm until she saw a cow lying lifeless on the road. It was the same cow that was so joyous previously. Valli got terrified at the fact that how a creature so full of life can instantly turn into something horrible. She sat down silently for rest of the journey. Upon reaching home, she found her mother and aunt talking about the endless possibilities in the world outside. Valli affirmed to what her mother was sayingleaving both of them astonished. She then justified her reaction by mentioning that she was casually agreeing to what her mother was saying. Her aunt then referred to Valli as a nose-poking child who acts like a grown up lady but only Valli knew what she was referring to because, after all, no one knew about her bus journey.