Class 10 English Chapter 1 Question Answers - First Flight

The  Class 10 English  Chapter- Madam Rides The Bus is a story that revolves around an eight-year-old girl who embarks on an adventurous bus ride into a world beyond her village. This journey is not only a new and exciting experience for the young protagonist, but it also teaches her about the realities of life and death. Let's see some Long Answer Questions of the chapter.

Q1: "Never mind," she said, “I can get on by myself.” “You don’t have to help me,” said Valli to the conductor. She shows extraordinary courage in making the bus journey all alone. Taking inspiration from Valli’s character, write how the ability and courage to take risks are essential to fulfilling one’s dream.

Ans: Valli is an eight-year-old village girl. She is fascinated by the bus that comes to the village every hour. She develops a desire and then a longing turning into a firm determination to ride the bus. She meticulously plans for it and saves money for the bus journey. Then she boards the bus without anyone’s help. 
She travels all alone, confidently and independently and finally returns home successfully. Her self-dependence and self-respecting nature help her to nurture her goal. She enjoys her journey.  Similarly, to achieve goals in life, we need to have such values in us. One should be confident and self-dependent. Proper planning and strong determination will lead to success. Enthusiasm and excitement to achieve the goal are also needed to nurture our goals in life.

Q2: Valli was so overcome with sadness to see the dead cow that she lost all enthusiasm. Do you feel the same way? If you feel concerned about the plight of animals falling prey to fast-moving traffic, what efforts will you make to make traveling on roads a safer activity?

Ans: While going to town, Valli saw a cow running in the middle of the road in front of the bus. The more the driver honked the horn, the faster it galloped. Valli laughed to see that.  On her return journey, Valli saw the same cow, lying sprawled in a pool of blood, with legs spread out, and lifeless eyes, staring. It saddened her making her lose all enthusiasm. 
I also feel the same when I see animals falling prey to the fast-moving traffic. We should take some serious steps to make road travel safer. Firstly, stray animals should be kept away from busy roads. Proper shelters should be made for them. Secondly, traffic laws should be implemented strictly. Whosoever violates the traffic rules must be penalized with fines, punishments, and other legal provisions as and when required. Rash driving must be kept under check. If an animal falls prey to a road accident, it must be rushed to the animal’s hospital immediately.

Q3: Justify the statement with instances that Valli was a mature girl and ahead of her age?

Ans: Valli was an eight-year-old village girl. She had no playmates. Her favourite pastime was to stand at the doorstep and watch things and people. She not only satisfied her curiosity but also gained new experiences.  Her strongest desire was to make a bus ride. She meticulously planned for it — gathered information about the distance, time, and ticket money. Showing self-restraint, she resisted the temptation to buy peppermint, toys, or a ride on the merry-go-round in order to save 60 paise for the bus journey.  She boarded the bus without anyone’s help, refused a free treat by the conductor and didn’t talk to strangers. This shows her commanding, confident and self-dependent nature. This also shows her determination and maturity at such a little age.

Q4: Valli’s journey to the city is also her induction into the mystery of life and death. Elaborate.

Ans: Valli gets introduced to the mystery of life and death on her first bus journey in the outside world. She was wonderstruck and enjoyed the beauty of the outside world.  She clapped, laughed and enjoyed it when she saw a young cow running in the middle of the road in front of the bus. The driver sounded the horn to warn it but the more he honked, the faster it galloped. Valli found it funny and amusing. She laughed till tears came into her eyes. 
On her way back, she saw the same cow lying dead on the road. Some fast-speeding vehicles must have hit it. It was a horrible sight. It looked quite frightening. It was lying their legs spread out, a fixed stare in its lifeless eyes and blood around it. The image of the dead cow haunted her, dampening her spirits and making her sad.

Q5: Write a character sketch of Valli.

Ans. Valli, an eight-year-old girl from a small village, possessed an insatiable curiosity. Her inquisitive nature led her to observe the happenings of the street outside her home from the front doorway, allowing her to experience novel and extraordinary things.

Her fascination with riding the bus to the town was meticulously planned with great attention to detail, including calculating the distance and travel time. Despite her young age, Valli's confidence and fearlessness were evident as she boarded the bus. Her confident demeanor, mixed with her childlike innocence, amused the bus conductor, who offered her a seat.

As the bus journey progressed, Valli relished in the experience, laughing and clapping when a young cow unexpectedly ran in front of the bus. However, her joy quickly turned to sorrow on the return journey, as she saw the same cow lying lifeless on the road. This heartbreaking sight deeply affected Valli, and she refused to look out the window for the remainder of the ride.

Valli's character can be described as curious, joyful, disciplined, smart, bold, and mature beyond her years.

Q6: 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 scat 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. He 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.

Q7: What was Valli’s obsession? How did she prepare and save money for her first bus journey? Or How did Valli plan for her first bus journey?

Ans: The most fascinating sight for Valli was seeing the bus that travelled from her village to the nearest town. A tiny wish crept into her head. She wanted to ride on that bus, at least for once. This wish became stronger until it was an overwhelming desire.  She listened to the conversations of her neighbours and people. They regularly used the bus. She found out after questioning them that both ways fare was sixty paise. It took forty-five minutes to reach the town. It was six miles from her village.
After gathering all the necessary details, Valli started saving money thriftily. She saved every coin that came her way. It was not an easy job for a girl of eight years. She had to resist the temptation of buying peppermints, toys, balloons and having a ride on the merry-go-round. When the money problem was solved, another problem was solved quite easily. She planned her journey from one to four o’clock when her mother took a nap in the afternoon. All such elaborate planning led Valli to have an enjoyable and smooth her first bus journey.

Also Check at EduRev:

• Detailed Summary: Madam Rides the Bus
• Character Sketch: Madam Rides the Bus

Q8: Describe what Valli saw during her bus journey. How did the scenes and sights affect her?

Ans: Valli was really excited. After all, it was her first bus journey. She ‘devoured’ everything with her eyes. When she started to look outside, her view was cut off by a canvas blind. She stood up on the seat and peered over the blind. She watched the bus passing along the bank of a canal. She saw palm trees, grasslands, distant mountains and the vast blue sky. Acres of green fields stretched out as far as her eyes could see the bus went past the railway station, the bright-looking shops and through the busy crossroads. 
One funny scene cheered her. A young cow ran in front of the bus. She was just in the middle of the road. The more the driver honked, the more frightened the cow became. Valli laughed till tears were in her eyes.  However, another sight dampened her enthusiasm. The same cow which looked so lovable and beautiful a while ago was lying dead beside the road. A fast-running vehicle had struck her dead. Now, the same cow was looking so horrible and frightening that Valli stopped looking outside. 

Q9: What did standing at the front door means to Valli?

Ans: Valli was just ‘a chit of a girl’. She was eight years old. She was very curious about things. She was always anxious to gather all the details, why and how about things. She was not very social either. She had no playmates of her own age in her neighbourhood. Naturally, she could not play games with friends. But, she more than compensated for this drawback. Her favourite pastime was standing in the front doorway of her house. standing there, she could watch what was happening in the street outside. 
But for Valli, standing at the front door was very enjoyable. Actually, it was as enjoyable as any of the games other children played. Watching the street gave her many new unusual experiences. The most fascinating of all these scenes was the scene of the bus that travelled between her village and the nearest town. Seeing a new set of passengers every time, she also wished to have the bus ride, at least for once.

Q10: Describe Valli’s interaction with (i) the conductor (ii) with the old gentleman (iii) with the elderly repulsive woman.

Ans:

(i) The conductor was a jolly sort of person. He was fond of joking. He enjoyed teasing Valli with his gentle comic remarks. He called her ‘madam’. Valli reacted sharply replying that she was not a ‘madam’. The conductor showed his concern when he tried to help her up, she told him that she could help herself. Valli showed that she was a self-respecting girl. She politely refused to accept a free drink from the conductor. 

(ii) The old gentleman was honestly concerned when Valli was standing in the bus. "Listen child, you shouldn’t stand like that", he said. Valli was annoyed by his attention and replied promptly that she was not a child. She had paid her thirty paise like everyone else. 

(iii) The elderly woman who sat beside her was quite repulsive to Valli. She didn’t like the big holes in her ears and the ugly earrings in them. Nor did Valli relish the unpleasant smell that came from the betel nut she was chewing. She couldn’t be social with such a person.

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