CLASS 10 important questions MADAM RIDES THE BUS

Short Answer Questions
1. How did Valli react when she saw the dead cow by the roadside?
Ans: On her return journey, Valli saw a dead cow lying in the middle of the road. It was
lying sprawled in a pool of blood, legs spread out, and lifeless eyes staring a horrible
scene. She felt sad and this made her lose all the enthusiasm.
2. What was the most fascinating thing for Valli?
Ans:  The most fascinating thing for Valli was the bus that travelled between and the
nearest town.
3. Why does Valli refuse to look out of the window on her way back?
Ans: Valli refused to look out of the window on her way back because the memory of
the dead cow haunted her, dampening her enthusiasm.
4.Why does the conductor call Valli ‘madam’?
Ans: Valli was trying to behave more mature than her age. She was trying to look
overconfident and smart. The conductor was amused at her behaviour and in an effort
to tease her, calls her ‘madam’.
5. Why does Valli stand up on the seat? What does she see now?
Ans: Valli stood up on her seat because her view was cut off by a canvas blind that
covered the lower part of her window. She stood up to look over the blind. She saw that
the road was very narrow, on one side of which was a canal and beyond it were palm
trees, grassland, distant mountains, and blue sky. On the other side, there was a deep
ditch and many acres of green fields.
Long Answer Questions
1. Who was Valli? What was her overwhelming desire?
Ans:  Valli was an eight-year-old girl. She was a curious girl. She wanted to know many things. She did not have playmates of her own age. Her favourite pastime was standing in the front doorway of her house to see what was happening outside. The most fascinating thing of all was the bus that passed through the street each hour. The bus travelled between her village and the nearest town. The sight of the bus was a source of unending joy for Valli. It was a great joy for her to watch new sets of passenger’s every time the bus passed through the street. As she watched the bus day after day, she developed a wish to have a ride on that bus. Her wish became stronger and stronger until it was an overwhelming desire.
2. What did Valli notice after she boarded the bus?
Ans: Valli looked around in the bus. It had a soft and comfortable seat. It had a beautiful clock above the windscreen. The overhead bars shone like silver. Then she tried to look outside. She found her view cut off by a curtain that covered the lower part of her window. So she stood on her seat to enjoy the outside scene. The bus was going along the bank of a canal. She saw palm trees, mountains and the blue sky. On the other side, there were green fields. Suddenly, an elderly man warned Valli not to stand on the seat. She called her a child and said that she could fall and get hurt. But Valli did not care for him. She told him proudly that she was not a ‘child’. She had paid the full fare like the others. The conductor told the man that Valli was a grown-up madam. Valli looked at the conductor angrily and said that she was not a madam.