Madam Rides the Bus

1.0About the Author

Vallikkannan was born in Rajavallipuram near Tirunelveli. He started writing at a very young age and had published twenty-five books by the time he was 30. He worked for magazines like Cinema Ulagam, Navasakthi, Grama Oozhiyan and Hanuman. He also wrote under the pseudonyms 'Naiyandi Bharathi' and 'Koranathan'. Central Idea The lesson 'Madam Rides the Bus' is about Valliammai, an eight-year-old, brave girl who has a strong desire and along with it, the courage to fulfill it.

It is the story of her first bus journey into the world outside her village. She likes gazing at the hustle- bustle of the street. The sight of a bus arriving and departing everyday is her favourite one. She develops a deep desire to travel by bus. For that, she needs all sorts of information about the bus journey, saving for the bus fare and then planning it out so that she could be back at home before her mother wakes up from her afternoon nap. Thus, the story recounts how innocently but responsibly Valli fulfils her deepest desire and experiences a bus ride. It is also about how, at a very tender age, Valli tries to understand the mysteries of life and death. The outside world for Valli is charming, fascinating, and mysterious as well and she wants to experience it herself. Through Valli, the author has depicted the curious nature of children and how they want their curiosity and desire to be satisfied. Valli dreams of taking a ride on the bus. Her eagerness to fulfill her desire makes her plan the bus ride meticulously and gain the first- hand experience of a bus ride.

2.0Longing For a Ride

This is a story about the first bus journey of an eight-year-old girl. Her name was Valliammai. She was called Valli for short. 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. Watching the happenings in the street gave her many new unusual experiences. 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 passengers every time the bus passed through the street. As she watched the bus day after day, she developed a desire to have a ride on that bus. Her wish became stronger and stronger until it was an overwhelming desire.

Valli carefully listened to the conversations between her neighbours and people who had travelled on the bus or who regularly used it. She asked some casual questions also. In this way, she learnt about small details related to the bus journey. She gathered knowledge that the town was six miles away from her village and it took forty-five minutes to reach there by bus. The fare was thirty paise for one way. One could keep sitting on the bus and return to the village by paying another thirty paise. Valli planned her journey to the town and back. It would be her first journey out of her village. She saved every paisa by resisting her desire to buy ice cream, toys, balloons etc. She had also sacrificed her desire to visit the village fair and have a ride in the merry-goround. When she had saved sixty paise, she was ready for her first bus journey.

Then she planned how she would slip out of the house for her first bus journey. She knew that her mother slept daily after lunch. She decided to use these hours for her journey. She decided to board the bus at one o'clock so that she could be back by two forty-five.

3.0Madam's Ride

So one fine spring day, Valli boarded the bus. Valli finally sneaks out during her mother's afternoon nap time and takes the $10^{\prime }$ clock bus to the town. She refuses to take any help from the conductor or fellow passengers. The conductor, seeing her confidence, allowed her to board the bus. He was a jolly fellow. He understood that Valli spoke with pride. He called her Madam and offered her a seat. He asked others to make way for the 'madam'. There were only six or seven passengers on the bus.

Valli looked around her in the bus. The bus had a fine painting of green stripes on the white. It had soft and comfortable seats. 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 moved along the bank of a canal. She could see 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. He called her a child and said that she could fall and get hurt. But Valli didn't 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. The conductor advised her that she should not stand on the seat. He warned her that she could fall when the bus took sharp turns.

But Valli ignored his remarks also. On the way, the bus stopped and some new passengers got on. Afraid of losing her seat, Valli finally sat down on her seat. An elderly woman came and sat beside her. Valli looked at the woman. She found her repulsive. She had ugly earrings. She was chewing betel nuts. Valli could see that the betel juice was likely to spill from her lips. That woman asked Valli whether she was travelling all alone. Valli told her that she was alone and she had got a ticket too. Then the old woman asked her if it was proper for a child to travel alone. She also asked whether Valli knew exactly where she was going in town. Valli told the old woman that she need not bother about her. Then she turned her face towards the window.

The bus moved on across a bare landscape. Valli was enjoying the outside scene. Trees came running towards them. Sometimes, the bus seemed to strike the oncoming vehicle. But both passed safely. Suddenly Valli clapped her hands with joy. A cow was running in the middle of the road, in front of the bus. The bus slowed down. The driver sounded the horn again and again. But the cow became more frightened and continued running before the bus. Valli laughed and laughed until there were tears in her eyes. At last the cow moved off. The bus passed by the side of a railway crossing. Valli enjoyed the scene of trains. Then the bus entered the city area. There were huge crowds of people. Valli looked at different things with surprise. Then the bus reached the city bus stand and stopped. Everybody got off the bus except Valli. The conductor asked Valli to get down. But she told him that she was going back on the same bus. He was surprised and asked her why she had come to the city. She replied that she just wanted to take a ride on the bus. He asked Valli if she would like to have a look at the sights outside the bus. Valli said that she was afraid of that. He asked to have a cold drink. Valli said that she had not enough money for that. The conductor offered to pay for her drink. But Valli did not accept the offer.

4.0Endless Possibilities in the World

The bus resumed its return journey. There were the same wonderful sights. Valli enjoyed the scene again. But suddenly she saw a young cow lying dead, by the roadside. It had been struck by a fast-moving vehicle. She asked the conductor if it was the same cow they had seen earlier. The conductor nodded. Valli became sad. It had been a lovable, beautiful creature just a little ago. But now the cow was without its charm and its life. The bus moved on. The memory of the dead cow haunted Valli. She no longer wanted to see out of the window. She kept sitting on her seat until her village came. She got down and wished the conductor. The conductor smiled. He told Valli that whenever she felt like riding the bus she could come and join them. Valli reached home. She found her mother was awake. She was talking to her aunt who lived in the South Street. She was a chatterbox. She asked Valli where she had been. She didn't reply but just smiled. Her mother and the aunt were discussing the things that happen in the world outside. Her mother said that no one could know everything. At this Valli remarked that there were many things happening without our knowledge. Her mother asked what she meant. Valli's aunt called her a chit of a girl speaking that she took interest in things which did not concern her. She behaved as if she were a grownup lady. Valli smiled to herself. She didn't want them to understand her smile.

5.0Let's Recall

• The story is about an eight-year-old girl named Valliammai. She was very curious to know about things.
• Her favourite pastime was to stand at the front doorway of her house and see what was happening in the street outside.
• She would watch the bus that passed every hour from her village to the nearest town.
• She developed a desire to ride the bus. This became her deepest desire.
• Valli found out the details of the bus journey by listening carefully to the conversations between her neighbours and regular bus users.
• She came to know that the town was just six miles from her village and the fare for the bus journey was thirty paise one way. The trip took forty-five minutes.
• Valli planned her visit to the town. She saved sixty paise for the fare. Finally, one day she took the 1 o'clock bus to the town.
• Valli was very happy to have got into the bus.
• On the way to the town, Valli saw a cow running right in front of the bus. She clapped as the cow kept on running towards the bus despite the continuous honking by the driver.
• Valli did not get off the bus when it reached the town. She also declined the offer of a cold drink by the conductor.
• On the return journey, she saw the same cow lying dead by the roadside. This unpleasant sight made her very sad.
• The bus reached the village at three forty. She ran straight for her home after getting down the bus. Her mother did not come to know about her journey.