Page 119
Question 1.
What was Valli’s favourite
pastime?
Answer:
Valli’s favourite pastime was standing in the front doorway of her house and
looking at the street outside.
Question 2.
What was the source of
unending joy for Valli? What was her strongest desire?
Answer:
The sight of the bus that
travelled between her village and the nearest town, filled each time with a
new set of passengers, was a source of unending joy for Valli. Her strongest
desire was to ride the bus.
Question 3.
What did Valli find out about
the bus journey? How did she find these details?
Answer:
Valli found out that the bus
journey to the town took 45 minutes and the one-way fare costed 30 paisa. She
listened carefully to the conversations between her neighbours and people who
regularly used the bus and asked a few discreet questions here and there. This
way she picked up various small details about the bus journey.
Question 4.
What do you think Valli was
planning to do?
Answer:
Valli was planning to go to the town and then return back by the same bus.
The fare was 30 paise one way and the ride took forty five minutes. In this
way, she planned that she would be back by 2:45 pm if shf took the bus at 1:00
pm.
Page 122
Question 1.
Why does the conductor call Valli ‘madam’?
Answer:
The conductor called Valli
‘madam’ because she behaved like a woman. She declined his help and was very
quick in her answers to the conductor’s questions. This made the conductor
call him madam.
Question 2.
Why does Valli stand up on
the seat?
(or)
What does she see now?
Answer:
Valli wanted to look outside the bus. She found her view blocked by the
canvas blind that covered the lower part of the window. In order to have a
better view she stood up on the seat and peered over the blind. She saw a
canal, palm trees, grassland, mountains, green fields and the sky.
Question 3.
What does Valli tell the
elderly man when he calls her a child?
Answer:
Valli replied that there was
nobody in the bus who was a child. She told her that she had paid her fare of
30 paise like
Question 4.
Why didn’t Valli want to make
friends with the elderly woman?
Answer:
Valli did not wanted to make
friends with the elderly woman because she looked quite repulsive. She had big
earholes and was wearing ugly earrings. Apart from this, she was chewing betel
and her mouth was also filled with betel juice.
Page 125
Question 1.
How did Valli save money for
her first journey?\Was it easy for her?
Answer:
Valli had very painstakingly
saved every stray coins that came her way by resisting every temptation to buy
peppermints, toys, balloons, etc. It had been very difficult for her. Even at
the village fair she resisted the temptation to be on the merry-go-round.
Thus, she had been able to save sixty paise for her first bus journey.
Question 2.
What did Valli see on her way
that made her laugh?
Answer:
Valli saw a young cow, tail high in the air running very fast right in the
middle of the road in front of the bus. The driver sounded his horn again and
again so that the cow moves away. But the more he honked, the more frightened
the animal became and faster it galloped. This all seemed very funny to Valli
and she laughed and laughed till there were tears in her eyes.
Question 3.
Why didn’t she get off the
bus at the bus station?
Answer:
Valli had planned that she only wanted to ride on the bus. She would spend
thirty paise on her fare, go to the town and then come back by the same bus
before her mother woke up. She didn’t 1 time or money to go to see the town.
Question 4.
Why didn’t Valli want go to
the stall have a drink? What does this tell yo about her?
Answer:
Valli had saved only sixty
paise for the trip.
She didn’t want to
waste any money on the as she had to come back by the same bus at any cost.
So, when the conductor suggested her to get down and have a drink she refused.
He offet bring one for her but she still refused. This i that she was a
well-mannered girl.
Thinking About The Text
(Page
127)
Question 1.
What was Valli’s deepest
desire? Find the words and phrases in the story that tell you this.
Answer:
Valli’s deepest desire was to
go on a bus ride. The words and phrases in the story that tell this are
‘source of unending joy’, ‘stare wistfully’, and ‘kindle in her longings,
dreams and hopes’.
Question 2.
How did Valli plan her bus
ride? What did she find out about the bus, and how did she save up the
fare?
Answer:
Over many days and months, Valli listened carefully to conversations between
her neighbours and people who regularly used the bus and asked a few discreet
questions here and there. She came to know that the town was six miles from
her village, the bus fare was thirty paise and the bus trip took forty-five
minutes. She also thought that if she stayed in the bus and came back by the
same bus it would only cost her sixty paise. She painstaking saved each and
every penny she got, resisting all temptation to buy peppermints, toys, etc
and even a ride on the merry-go-round at the village annual fair so as to save
sixty paise. It was a secret trip which she had planned without the knowledge
of her parents.
Question 3.
What kind of 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.
Answer:
Valli was a confident girl who
did not think that her age was a limitation to her travelling alone to the
town. She considered herself a grown up and acted like one.
Question 4.
Why does the conductor refer
to Valli as ‘Madam’?
Answer:
The conductor called Valli ‘Madam’ as she behaved like a grown up and did
not think that she was a child. She also refused his help and told him that
she can manage on her own.
Question 5.
Find the lines in the text
which tell you that Valli was enjoying her ride on the bus.
Answer:
Valli thoroughly enjoyed her
ride in the bus. The following lines from the text tell us about it. She saw
so many things on her way-a canal, palm trees, grasslands, distant mountains.
“Oh! it was all so wonderful,” that’s what she felt. “Sometimes the bus seemed
on the point of gobbling up another vehicle that was coming towards them or a
pedestrian crossing the road. Somehow it passed smoothly, leaving all
obstacles behind and then she saw a cow running very fast, infront of the bus.
This all seemed very funny ro Valli and she laughed and laughed till tears
flowed from her eyes.”
Question 6.
Why does Valli refuse to look
out of the window on her way back?
Answer:
Valli refused to look out of
the window on her way back as she saw the dead body of the cow who was running
towards the bus when she was going to town. This made her sad and frightened.
Question 7.
What does Valli means when
she says… “I was just agreeing with you what you said about things happening
without our knowledge”.
Answer:
While making this statement, Valli was trying to hide the fact about her bus
ride. She was also feeling elated at making a successful attempt at her plan.
Question 8.
The author describes the
things that Valli sees from an 8 years old’s point of view. Can you find
evidence from the text for his statement?
Answer:
Yes, for example when the
author says, ‘she was fascinated by the bus’ and ‘watching the bus fill with a
new set of people each time was a source of unending joy for her’. When the
author describes the bus, he stresses on the colour and look of the new bus
‘like silver’ because a child is attracted towards colour. ‘The seats were
soft and luxurious’. The description that the author gives when Valli looked
outside are also typical of a 8 year old. ‘The blue sky’ and ‘acres and acres
of green field’, show the enthusiasm a child. A cow running in front of the
bus fascinated the child whereas the sight of dead cow brought tears in her
eyes and she refused to look outside the window on her return journey.
This’also describes the behaviour of an 8 year old child aptly.
Writing
(Page 128)
Question 1.
Have you ever planned
something entirely on.your own, without taking grown ups into your confidence?
What did you plan and how? Did you carry out your plan?
Answer:
It was during my summer
vacations. I wanted to plan a special birthday for my mother. So, I roped in
my younger sister in my plan to celebrate her birthday. We saved our pocket
money and didn’t go for our weekly outings for some time. In this way, we were
able to save five hundred rupees for the birthday party. Now, we had to
arrange everything without our mother’s knowledge. On her birthday we
pretended as if we didn’t remember her birthday at all. Instead we requested
our father to take her to the market. In the meantime, we arranged everything
like cake, decorations, flowers and even invited two of her best friends. When
she came back she was surprised. It was the best birthday she ever had in her
life.
Question 2.
Have you made a journey that
was unforgettable in some way? What made it memorable?
Answer:
I have gone on many trips and
excursions, but one journey which I can’t forget is my trip to Hemkund and
Badrinath. The scenery over there was mesmerising and as you leave Delhi, you
enjoy cool fresh air and see breath taking lush green fields. The bus ride
takes you on winding narrow roads, with river flowing on one side and
mountains on the other side. To reach Hemkund Sahib, one has to travel 14 kms
by foot. Everywhere there are crowds of devotees, chanting holy names and
moving up the hill. When I reached the shrine, it was enveloped in clouds. The
water in the holy tank was ice cold. The moment you step in it your tiredness
vanishes. After that we went to Badrinath by bus. It was also a very nice
place. There were many hot springs over there.
Question 3.
Are you concerned about
traffic and road safety? What are you concerns? How would you make road travel
safer and more enjoyable?
Answer:
India has a wide network of roads. Everyday crores of Indians travel on
these road by bus, car, cycle, cycle rickshaw, scooter, moped, truck, etc.
Even pedestrians use these roads. As people don’t follow road safety rules,
every year many people lose their lives due to fatal road accidents. It is
also seen that 90 per cent of these fatal accidents involve youngsters who
like to drive at very high speed, don’t wear helmets and seat belt, talk on
mobiles while driving or love to do stunts inspired by movies. Despite many
directions issued by the traffic police all their advice falls on deaf year.
It is our duty to follow all the rules and regulations and to keep safety
measures in our mind while driving. Safe driving is best driving and the rules
are framed keeping our security in mind: