PUMPA - SMART LEARNING
எங்கள் ஆசிரியர்களுடன் 1-ஆன்-1 ஆலோசனை நேரத்தைப் பெறுங்கள். டாப்பர் ஆவதற்கு நாங்கள் பயிற்சி அளிப்போம்
Book Free Demo Day after day she watched the bus, and gradually a tiny wish crept into her head and grew there: she wanted to ride on that bus, even if just once. This wish became stronger and stronger, until it was an overwhelming desire. Valli would stare wistfully at the people who got on or off the bus when it stopped at the street corner. Their faces would kindle in her longings, dreams, and hopes. If one of her friends happened to ride the bus and tried to describe the sights of the town to her, Valli would be too jealous to listen and would shout, in English: “Proud! proud!” Neither she nor her friends really understood the meaning of the word, but they used it often as a slang expression of disapproval.
Over many days and months Valli listened carefully to conversations between her neighbours 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 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 went her thoughts as she calculated and recalculated, planned and replanned.
Explanation:
It is very easy to manifest what we see regularly. A lot of scholars ask people to write their goal and stick it in places they are more prone to seeing. Similarly, Valli, who enjoyed watching the bus daily, slowly started wishing to travel in it. It was an overwhelming feeling for her to imagine herself being seated on the bus that she had just been standing by and watching. She also observed the people who boarded the bus, as it was their faces that made her long for the ride. It kindled in her longings, hopes and dreams of exploring new places and going on an adventure.
Passengers on a bus
If we do not get a thing that we desire, we would not like other people flaunting it, as it might make us jealous. So we tend to make statements that the person is being too arrogant or proud. Similarly, Valli does not like it when her friends travel on the bus and flaunt it. She uses the word proud repetitively, although she does not understand the meaning of the word as it is in English. In the earlier days, English was not very common among the village folk. She and her friends used the word as slang for disapproval.
Once Valli set up her dream, she needed the plan to execute it. But it was very difficult for an eight-year-old to realise her dream of travelling on a bus. If she informed her parents, it would be brushed off, saying that it was unimportant. So she decided to take things into her hands. She listened to people talking about the bus keenly. She initially listened to people who had hands-on experience on the bus, the passengers. Valli did not make it obvious that she was listening as it would instil doubts. So she casually listened to people talk about the timings and route of the bus.
Valli picked up small details, like her village was six miles away from the town. She also heard a well-dressed man say that the ticket fare was thirty paisa one way. But to Valli, who was from a simple background, it was a huge amount. It was a fortune since she only sees that much amount after a whole month has passed. She also learnt that it would take forty-five minutes to reach the town. This meant that she could sneak in and take the one-o'clock bus and reach the town in forty-five minutes. If she does not get down from the bus, then she can return back in the same bus and reach the village back by two forty-five. Thus Valli made all plans with respect to the fare, duration and other things. She planned and re-planned several times to make sure that nothing goes wrong.
Words with difficult meanings:
| S.No |
Words
|
Meaning
|
|
1
|
Gradually | To move in a slow process |
|
2
|
Overwhelming | Too much to handle |
|
3
|
Wistfully | Having a regretful longing |
|
4
|
Kindle | To spark or induce |
|
5
|
Slang | The way one speaks |
|
6
|
Disapproval | To not agree with something |
|
7
|
Conversations | To engage or talk with something |
|
8
|
Discreet | In a hidden and careful manner |
Reference:
National Council of Educational Research and Training (2006). Beehive. Madam Rides the Bus - Vallikannan (pp. 116-128). Published at the Publication Division by the Secretary, National Council of Educational Research and Training, Sri Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi.
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