Discover ‘Madam Rides the Bus Question Answer, Class X,’ a complete guide with all the important questions from the text and extra questions. It’s written in simple language to help students understand and get ready for exams.
Table of Contents
Madam Rides the Bus Question Answer
English Class X
By Vallikkannan
Madam Rides the Bus Question Answer
Textual Question Solutions
Oral Comprehension Check-I
Q.1. What was Valli’s favourite pastime?
Ans: Valli’s favourite pastime was to stand in the front doorway of her house and watch what was happening in the street outside.
Q.2. What was a source of unending joy for Valli? What was her strongest desire?
Ans: The source of unending joy for Valli was the sight of the bus that travelled between her village and the nearest town.
Her strongest desire was to ride on the bus.
Q.3. What did Valli find out about the bus journey? How did she find out these details?
Ans: Valli found out that the town was six miles away from her village. The fare was thirty paise. On reaching the town by bus and if she stayed in her seat and paid another thirty paise, then she could return home on the same bus.
She found out these details by listening carefully to the conversations between her neighbours and the people who regularly used the bus.
Q.4. What do you think Valli was planning to do?
Ans: Valli was planning to travel to the town by bus.
Oral Comprehension Check-II
Q.1. Why does the conductor call Valli ‘madam’?
Ans: When the conductor stretched out his hand to help Valli get on the bus, she said that she could get on the bus by herself without the conductor’s help. As she acted like a grown-up man so the conductor called her ‘madam’.
Q.2. 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 canvas blind.
She saw that the road was very narrow, on one side of which there was the canal and beyond it, there were palm trees, grassland, distant mountains and the blue sky. On the other side, there were a deep ditch and green fields.
Q.3. What did Valli tell the elderly man when he calls her a child?
Ans: When the elderly man called her a child, Valli told him that she was not a child as she paid her fare of thirty paise like everybody else.
Q.4. Why did not Valli like to make friends with the elderly woman?
or
Why did Valli find the old woman who sat beside her in the bus ‘absolutely repulsive’?
Ans: Valli did not like to make friends with the elderly woman because she found her absolutely repulsive. She saw that the woman had big holes in her ear lobes and very ugly ear-rings in them. She could smell the betel nut that the woman was chewing and could see the betel juice that was almost about to spill over her lips.
Oral Comprehension Check-III
Q.1. How did Valli save up money for her first journey? Was it easy for her?
Ans: Valli saved whatever stray money came her way, resisting every temptation to buy peppermints, toys, balloons and the like. Eventually, she had sixty paise saved.
It was not easy for Valli to save money. In order to save that amount of money, she had to suppress her desires and temptations.
Q.2. What did Valli see on her way that made her laugh?
Ans: Valli saw a young cow, whose tail was high in the air, running in front of the bus in the middle of the road. The bus slowed and the driver horned loudly. However the more he horned, the more frightened the cow became and it kept running faster. Valli found it much amusing and she laughed so much until tears came out of her eyes.
Q.3. Why did not she get off the bus at the bus station?
Ans: She did not get off the bus because she made her mind up to return home by the same bus. She just wanted to ride on the bus and took out another thirty paise from her pocket and handed it over to the bus conductor.
Q.4. Why did not Valli want to go to the stall and have a drink? What does it tell you about her?
Ans: Valli did not want to go to the stall to have a drink because she had no money for that. Even when the conductor offered her a cold drink free of cost, she refused firmly. It shows that she had a lot of self-will and pride.
Thinking About the Text
Q.1. What was Valli’s deepest desire? Find out the words and phrases in the story that tell you this.
Ans: Valli’s deepest desire was to take a ride on the bus that ran between her village and the nearest town.
The words and phrases in the story that tells about this are- the fascinating things, the sight of the bus, a source of unending joy. listening carefully etc.
Q.2. How did Valli plan her bus ride? What did she find out about the bus and how did she save up the fare?
Ans: Valli had a strong desire to have a bus ride from her home to the nearest town. She listened to the conversation between her neighbours and others who often took bus journey. Even she sometimes questioned about the bus. Thus she gathered some knowledge and planned for her bus ride.
Valli saved whatever stray money came her way, resisting every temptation to buy peppermints, toys, balloons and the like. Eventually, she had sixty paise saved to pay the bus fare.
Q.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 is nobody here ——————’ she said haughtily. I’ve paid my thirty paise like anyone’s else.
(iv) ‘Never mind,’ she said.’ I can ———– you don’t have to help me. I am not a child, I tell you,’ she said, ————.
(v) ‘You needn’t bother about me. I ———–’. Valli said, turning her face towards the window and staring out.
(vi) Then she turned to the conductor and said, ‘ Well, sir, I hope —————.’
Ans: (i) ‘Stop the bus! Stop the bus!’ And a tiny hand was raised commandingly.
(ii) ‘Yes, I simply have to go to town,’ said Valli, still standing outside the bus.
(iii) There’s nobody here who’s a child’ she said haughtily. I’ve paid my thirty paise like anyone’s else.
(iv) ‘Never mind,’ she said.’ I can get on by myself you don’t have to help me. I am not a child, I tell you,’ she said, irritably.
(v) ‘You needn’t bother about me. I can take care of myself’, Valli said, turning her face towards the window and staring out.
(vi) Then she turned to the conductor and said, ‘Well, sir, I hope to see you again.’
Q.4. Why does the conductor refer to Valli as ‘madam’?
Ans: When the conductor stretched out his hand to help Valli get on the bus, she said that she could get on the bus by herself without the conductor’s help. As she acted like a grown-up man. So the conductor called her ‘madam’.
Q.5. find out the lines in the text which tell you that Valli was enjoying her ride on the bus.
Ans: The lines that tell that Valli was enjoying the ride on the bus are as below-
(i) While the bus was moving on a narrow road along the bank of a canal, she saw the distant mountains, fields, sky and so on. She went on seeing as far as her eyes could see. She uttered, ‘Oh it was all so wonderful.’
(ii) The bus was rolling across a bare landscape and was gobbling up another vehicle. The bus left everything safely. Valli suddenly clapped her hands with glee.
(iii) There came a cow, it ran faster and faster and came right before the bus. This scene made her laugh until there were tears in her eyes.
(iv) The bus passed the Shopping Street. There were displays of clothes and other merchandise. Such a big crowd!
Q.6. Why does Valli refuse to look out of the window on her way back?
Ans: On her way back home, Valli saw a young cow lying dead by the roadside. It looked horrible and there was a fixed stare in the lifeless eyes of the cow with blood all over. Its memory hunted her very much and she lost all her enthusiasm and excitement.
That is why she refused to look out of the window on her way back.
Q.7. What does Valli mean when she says, ‘I was just agreeing with what you said about things happening without our knowledge.’
Ans: Returning home from her bus journey, Valli found that her mother had been conversing with her aunt about the happenings in the world. Even some of them were not understandable to her. At this point, Valli said so expressing her agreement to that many things that have been happening without their knowledge.
Q.8. The author describes the things that Valli sees from an eight-year-old child’s point of view. Can you find evidence from the text for this statement?
Ans: The author Vallikkannan has described many things from an eight-year-old’ child named Valli’s point of view. There is much evidence of this statement in the text. At random we can quote the following sentences:
(i) On seeing her, one of her friends describing the sights, Valli would shout, ‘Proud! Proud!’
(ii) From the regular bus passengers, Valli would ask a few discreet questions.
(iii) I can get on by myself. You don’t have to help me.
(iv) Ugh! Who could be sociable with such a person?
(v) No one will be looking for me, she said.
(vi) All by myself? Oh, I’d be much to afraid.
(vii) No I don’t have enough money. Just give me my ticket, that’s all.
Madam Rides the Bus Question Answer
Additional Question Solutions
Q.1. How did Valli acquire many unusual experiences?
Ans: Valli’s pastime was to keep standing in the front doorway of her house watching what was happening in the street outside. Standing in the doorway was every bit as enjoyable as any of the elaborate games other children played and watching the street gave her many unusual experiences.
Q.2. How much distance was the town from Valli’s village? What was the bus fare for a trip from Valli’s village to the town?
Ans: From Valli’s village the town was about six miles away.
The bus fare for a trip from Valli’s village to the nearest town was thirty paise.
Q.3. What sort of person was the conductor?
Ans: The conductor was a jolly sort, fond of joking.
Q.4. Who was Valli?
Ans: Valli was an eight-year-old village girl who lived with her mother.
Q.5. How was Valli different from other girls of her age?
Ans: Other children of her age enjoyed playing games but Valli enjoyed watching the street. Thus she was different from other girls of her age.
Q.6. What was a source of unending joy for Valli?
or
What was a source of unending joy for Valli? What was her overwhelming desire?
Ans: The bus travelled between her village and the nearest town and each time the bus carried with a new set of passengers. This sight was an unending source of joy for Valli.
Valli’s overwhelming desire was to ride on the bus.
Q.7. What was the full name of Valli?
Ans: The full name of Valli was Valliammai.
Q.8. Give a description of the bus in which Valli travelled.
Ans: The bus was a fine one. It was painted in a gleaming white with some green stripes along the sides. Its overhead bars shone like silver. In front of the bus, above the windshield, there was a beautiful clock. The seats were soft and luxurious. It travelled to the nearest town through the village road.
Q.9. Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow: HSLC ’15
(a) Over many days and months Valli listened carefully to the conversation between her neighbour and people who regularly used the bus and she also asked a few discreet questions here and there. This way she picked up various small details about the bus journey. The town was six miles from her village. The fare was thirty paise one way- ‘which is almost nothing at all’, she heard one well-dressed man say, but to Valli, who scarcely saw that much money from one month to the next, it seemed a fortune. 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. This meant that she could take the one o’clock afternoon bus, reach the town at one forty-five, and be back home by about two forty-five.
On and on Valli went her thoughts as she calculated and recalculated, planned and replanned.
Questions:
(i) What did Valli find out about the bus journey? How did she find out these details?
(ii) What do you think Valli was planning to do?
Ans: (i) Valli found out about the bus journey from his neighbours.
Over many days and months, Valli listened carefully to the conversations between her neighbours and people who regularly took bus journey from the village to the town. She also asked a few questions here and there. In this way, she found out about the bus journey.
(ii) Valli was planning to take a bus journey from her village to the town. She came to know that it took thirty paise to go and another thirty paise to come back by bus. So she saved some sixty paise and planned to take her journey by bus.
(b) Read the following extract carefully and answer the questions that follow:
It was a new bus, its outside painted a gleaming white with some green stripes along the sides. Inside, the overhead bars shone like silver. Directly in front of Valli, above the windshield, there was a beautiful clock. The seats were soft and luxurious.
Valli devoured everything with her eyes. But when she started to look outside, she found her view cut off by a canvas blind that covered the lower part of her window. So she stood up and peered over the blind. The bus was now going along the bank of the canal. The road was very narrow. On one side there was a canal and beyond it, palm trees, grassland, distant mountains, and the blue sky. On the other side was a deep ditch and then acres and acres of greenfield- green, green, green, as far as the eye could see.
Questions:
(i) What was the inside of the bus like?
(ii) Why did Valli stand up on the seat?
(iii) What could be seen outside as the bus was going along the bank of a canal?
Ans: (i) The inside of the bus was fine. Its overhead bars shone like silver. The seats were soft and luxurious.
(ii) Valli stood up on the seats because when she started to look outside, she found her view cut off by a canvas blind that covered the lower part of the window.
(iii) One could see palm trees, grassland, distant mountains and the blue sky on one side. On the other side, a deep ditch and greenfield could be seen outside as the bus was going along the bank of a canal.
Q.10. How old was Valli?
Ans: Valli was eight years old.
Q.11. What fascinated Valli most?
Ans: The bus that travelled between her village and the nearest town fascinated Valli most. 0 0 0.
N.B. Dear readers, if you find ‘Madam Rides the Bus Question Answer, Class X helpful, we kindly encourage you to share your thoughts. Your feedback, both formative and suggestive, is greatly appreciated and valued.
Madam Rides the Bus Question Answer
Summary
“Madam Rides the Bus” is a short story by Vallikannan that portrays the journey of an elderly woman named Rosa. She regularly rides the bus to visit the nearby markets and temples in the town of Malgudi. Despite being a routine commuter, Rosa remains a mystery to many of her fellow passengers, who speculate about her background and purpose.
The narrative unfolds as Rosa’s routine bus ride takes an unexpected turn when she gets caught in a sudden rainstorm. The rain disrupts the usual order of things, causing discomfort and chaos among the passengers. Amidst this commotion, Rosa’s calm demeanor and resilience stand out. She remains composed, quietly knitting, and seems unaffected by the chaos around her.
As the bus moves through the rain-soaked streets, Rosa’s presence becomes a focal point. She attracts the attention of the bus conductor, who is intrigued by her serenity and dignified demeanor. Despite attempts to engage her in conversation, Rosa remains reticent, adding to her mysterious allure.
The story subtly explores themes of aging, dignity, and the contrast between routine and unexpected disruptions. Rosa’s character serves as a symbol of resilience and quiet strength, navigating the challenges of daily life with grace and composure. Through her journey on the bus, the author invites readers to contemplate the deeper significance of seemingly ordinary moments and the resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity.
Madam Rides the Bus Question Answer
About the Author: Vallikkannan
Vallikkannan, whose full name was Sankara Menon Vallikkannan, was a prominent Indian writer and journalist known for his contributions to Tamil literature. Born on November 1, 1885, in Kerala, India, Vallikkannan’s literary career spanned several decades during the 20th century.
Vallikkannan initially pursued a career in journalism and worked with various newspapers and magazines, including the prestigious Ananda Vikatan, where he gained recognition for his insightful writing and commentary. His journalistic career allowed him to observe and depict the socio-political landscape of his time, influencing his literary works.
As a writer, Vallikkannan excelled in both fiction and non-fiction. He authored numerous short stories, novels, and essays, often focusing on everyday life, social issues, and human relationships. His writing style was characterized by its simplicity, realism, and keen observation of human behavior.
One of Vallikkannan’s most celebrated works is the short story “Madam Rides the Bus,” originally written in Tamil. This story, set in the fictional town of Malgudi, portrays the ordinary yet poignant journey of an elderly woman named Rosa and reflects Vallikkannan’s ability to capture the nuances of everyday life with empathy and depth.
Throughout his career, Vallikkannan’s writings earned him acclaim for their portrayal of human emotions and societal complexities. He remains a revered figure in Tamil literature, remembered for his literary contributions that continue to resonate with readers for their timeless themes and evocative storytelling.
Vallikkannan passed away on January 9, 1955, leaving behind a rich legacy of literature that continues to inspire and influence generations of readers and writers in Tamil Nadu and beyond.
Our Ready Guides for H S Students:
Additional Searches:
Suggestive Readings:
- class 10 english madam rides the bus question answer,
- Madam Rides the Bus Question Answer seba
- madam rides the bus question answer extra,
- class 10 madam rides the bus question answer,
- madam rides the bus question answer mcq,
- Madam Rides the Bus Question Answer Class X pdf
- Class X Madam Rides the Bus Question Answer
- Madam Rides the Bus Question Answer NCERT Class X
- class 10 english chapter madam rides the bus question answer,
- class 10 english chapter 7 madam rides the bus question answer
- Madam Rides the Bus Question Answer NCERT
