Madam Rides the Bus by Vallikkannan: Questions & Answers

                              Madam Rides the Bus  by Vallikkannan

A. Very Short Questions/Answers

Q1. Who is the writer of the lesson ‘Madam Rides the Bus’?

Ans. Vallikkannan is the author/writer of this lesson.

Q2. What is the age of Valli? 
Ans. Valli is an eight year old girl.

Q3. What is Valli’s pastime?

Ans. Her pastime is to stand outside her house and watch all that happens out.

Q4. Did Valli had playmates of her own age? 
Ans. No, Valli had no playmates of her own age.

Q5. What is the most fascinating experience for Valli?

Ans. Watching the bus was the most fascinating experience for Valli.

Q6. Between which destinations did the bus run? Or What was the route of the bus?

Ans. The bus travelled between her village and the nearest town.

Q7. What was Valli’s tiny wish? 
Ans. Valli’s tiny wish was to ride on that bus.

Q8. What was the distance between Valli’s village and the nearest town?

Ans. The town was six miles away from Vally’s village.

Q9 What time did one trip of the bus take?

Ans. The trip to the town took forty-five minutes.

Q10. What was one side fare of the bus?

Ans. The fare for one side journey was thirty paise.

Q11. How much money did Valli save? 

Ans. She saved sixty paise.

Q12. What was the conductor’s nature? 

Ans. The conductor was a jolly good person.

Q13. What did Valli bring from the town? 

Ans. Valli bought nothing from the town.

Q14. What did Valli usually buy? 

Ans.Valli usually bought peppermint, toys, balloons, etc.

Q15. What did Valli not like to be called by the bus conductor?

Ans. She did not like to be called a child and a madam.

Q16. What activity of the old woman did Valli not like?

Ans. Valli did not like the old woman’s chewing betel nut.

Q17. What desire of hers had Valli stifled? 

Ans. She had stifled a strong desire to ride the merry-go-round.

Q18.What is the full name of Valli? 

Ans. Valliammai

B.  Short Questions/Answers ( 30-35 words)

Q1.What was Valli’s favourite pastime?

Ans. Standing the front door of her house and watching the usual activities happening in the street. She would also enjoy watching children playing there. She would also enjoy watching the bus coming and going through the street.

 Q2.What details did Valli pick up about the bus journey? How did she get this detail?

Ans. She came to know that the one side journey of the bus to the town took forty-five minutes. The town was six miles away from her village. The one side fare of the bus was thirty paise. She got this detail by making questions to the people.

Q3. What plans did Valli make for her journey?

Ans. First she saved bus fare for her to and fro journey. She got detail about the suitable time for her journey. She would sit in the bus at one in the afternoon and come back home at 2:45 p.m.

Q4.Why does the conductor call Valli ‘Madam’?

Ans. The conductor calls Valli ‘madam’ just out of fun. It was because she did not want to be treated like a child. She did not want any type of help from the conductor.  She had a lot of self confidence in her.

Q5. Why did Valli stand up on her seat?

Ans.  Valli wanted to enjoy the outside scenes. But she was unable to see out properly. It was because the lower part of the window was covered with a canvas blind. So she had to stand up to look outside the bus.

Q6.What did the elderly woman say to Valli and what was Valii’s reaction to it?

Ans. The elderly woman asked Valli several questions. She told Valli that it was not proper for a child to travel alone in a bus. She asked her some questions. That made Valli feel irritated. She told the woman that she should not bother about her.

Q7. What did Valli see on her way that made her laugh?

Ans. The sight of a young cow made Valli laugh. It was running towards the bus. The driver reduced the speed. He also blew horn again and again. But the young cow came in front of the bus. It amused Valli most.

Q8. How did Valli save up money for her first journey? Was it easy for her?

Ans. She saved money for her first journey by resisting (opposing) her desires to buy peppermints, toys, balloons, etc. She had aslo stifled (suppressed) her strong desire to ride the merry-go-round at the village fair.

Q9.Why didn’t Valli get off the bus at the bus stand on reaching the town?

Ans. Valli did not get off the bus on reaching the town. First she had no extra money to go the market to buy anything. Second, it may be that she did not want to miss that bus.

Q10.Why didn’t 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 and have a drink because she had no extra money with her. It tells us about her control over her emotions. She did not accept cold drink from the conductor. It shows her self respect.

Q11.Why did Valli refuse to look out of the window on her way back?

Ans. Valli refused to see out of the window because her excitement  had gone. She had seen the young cow dead. Sometime ago, it was running in front of the bus. All this made her sad.

Q12. 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 travel in the bus that ran between her village and a town. She would daily stand at the gate of her house daily to watch the bus come and go with a strong desire.

Q13. How did Valli plan her bus ride? What did she find out about the bus and how did she save up the fare?

Ans. She made a plan to save sixty paise for fare of the both sides. She also planned to ride in 1 O’clock bus. She would reach the town at 1:45. She would be back at home around 2:45. She saved that money by sacrificing her desires.

C.Long Answer-Type Qs. (100-120 words)

Q1. How did Valli plan to ride a bus?

Ans. Valli was eight years old. A bus used to pass every hour through that street. It travelled between her village and the nearest town. Slowly, Valli had a strong desire to travel in the bus. She always listened to people who travelled in that bus. She picked up detail of the journey. It was of just six miles. She needed thirty paise for one side fare of the journey. She made a plan to save sixty paise for fare of the both sides. She also planned to ride in 1 O’clock bus. She would reach the town at 1:45. She would be back at home around 2:45. When she planned everything, she rode the bus one day.

Q2. Describe the character of Valli (Valliammai)

Ans. Valli was an eight year old girl. She was curious about knowing things around her. Her pastime is to stand outside her house and watch things. A bus used to pass through her street every hour. It created in her a strong desire to ride in that bus. She was intelligent also. So she collected every detail about the bus journey. She sacrificed her other desires for the sake of her desire to ride the bus. She collected sixty paise for the bus fare. One day, she boarded the bus. She was very bold and confident. She talked to the bus conductor fearlessly. She was very sensitive to other living beings also. She enjoyed natural scenes outside the bus. She entertained other passengers and the conductor by her innocent and funny talks.