Summary of The Bus ‘
The Bus’ by Arun Kolatkar is a poem about a visitor’s travel experience to Jejuri. The
tarpaulin flaps are buttoned-down as the journey taken by the visitor is during a rainy night.
It is typical of Indian buses to have only tarpaulin flaps instead of glass-shutters during 1976.
The tarpaulin flaps beating at one’s elbow or even face refers to the exasperating experience
the visitor had to undergo. “Your own divided face” talks of the imprisoned situation where
one can see nothing but his own reflections. There is no description of the onward
movement present in the poem, yet it felt through the reflection in the old man’s glasses.
The visitor embodies the modern skepticism of religious superstition, whereas the caste
mark symbolizes the religious faith of the old generation. The monotonous journey and the
bumpy ride, come to an end by the streaks of sunlight shooting into the bus. His purpose of
the visit has nothing to do with the old man traveled with him, so the speakers warn the
visitor not to entertain a conversation or get his view of religion or about the place.
About Arun Kolatkar
Arun Balkrishna Kolatkar is a Marathi poet, who wrote with ease in Marathi and English. He
was born on 1 st November 1932 and died on 25th September 2004. During his lifetime, he
has influenced many Marathi poets by his works. He has received Sahitya Akademi Award in
2005 and Commonwealth writers’ prize in 1977
Form and Structure of The Bus
‘The Bus’ is a free verse of 25 lines carelessly arranged to form the poem. The poem has no
specific rhyme scheme too. It is a simple descriptive poem about the journey to Jejuri. He
has captured the scenes outside and inside in the well-depicted images. With his objective
view and phrases like ‘you look down”, “your own divided face”, “your elbow”, “you get off
the bus” take the readers on a journey to Jejuri. The poem’s loosely set structure and his
choice of simple language help to deal with his major theme, the journey in India. The poem
is conversational in tone, for the poet keeps talking or giving guidance to the visitor about
the experience of traveling on a bus to Jejuri.
Analysis of The Bus Lines 1 to 5 T
he tarpaulin flaps are buttoned down ( . . . ) And slapping a corner of tarpaulin at your elbow.
The poem ‘The Bus’ opens with the poet’s description of the bus which is on its way up to
Jejuri. The poem was written in 1976, so the windows of the state transport bus is covered
with tarpaulin flaps, instead of glass. As the bus keeps moving forward, the cold wind blows
heavily on the tarpaulin and tries to move it. Its constant attempt is described as “whipping”
and “slapping”, especially of the human attributes of anger and displeasure. The wind
blowing on the tarpaulin, ‘at your elbow” presents the speaker/poet as an observer than the
subject. And the use of verbs like ‘slapping’ and ‘whipping’ is used to give life to the wind
and so it is the personification of wind.
Lines 6 and 10
You look down to the roaring road. ( . . . ) Is all the countryside you get to see.
As the journey moves forward, in the lines from six to ten the poet talks about the natural
curiosity of a traveler to look outside. The tarpaulin is not see-through and tied to the
window, so, everything the visitor could see is the “roaring road”. The poet further states,
the visitor may vainly try to look for daybreak in the limited light spilling out from the bus,
for they are traveling at night. Searching for the signs of daybreak indicates the restlessness
of the fellow traveler for the journey to end sooner or the eagerness to be in “Jejuri”.
However hard the traveler may try, all the scenes he gets to see is of the divided self of
himself in the “pair of glasses on an oldman`s nose”. The “divided face” is of a retrospective
in nature, for the person has to deal with his divided self. In this context, the divided self
depicts the poet’s religious beliefs and modern skepticism.
Lines 11 to 16
You seem to move continually forward. ( . . . ) And shoots at the oldman`s glasses.
Despite no description of moving forward, the poet in ‘The Bus’ says the traveler could know
that he is moving forward towards the destination – to the ruins of Jejuri. As he was
observing the divided face on the old man’s spectacles, he looks further at the “caste
mark”, which depicts the religious belief. That symbolic representation of the caste mark
indicates the difference between the old man’s religious faith and of the young traveler. By
then, he notices the sun’s rays seeping through the eyelet in the tarpaulin and reflecting at
the old man’s glasses. The verbs ‘shoots’ and ‘aims’ used in these lines personify the sun.
Lines 17 to 20
A sawed off sunbeam comes to rest gently against the driver`s right temple. ( . . . )
When you get off the bus. Lines from 17 to 20 of the poem ‘The Bus,’ gives the picture of
daybreak and its view inside the bus. Outside the bus, the sun has risen. As the bus changes
direction, a “sawed off sunbeam” falls on the right temple of the driver. The ”Sawed-off
sunbean” indicates the sharpness of the sun rays and serve as strong visual imagery. Since
the poet is also an artist, bringing art into writing is never an issue for the poet. This is
personified by the poet as if the sunbeam coming to rest gently on the temple of the driver,
like a human being. Finally, they have reached their destination at the end of the bumpy
ride. “With your own face on the either side” indicates the hard path one has to take to
reach the destination.
Line 21
You dont step inside the old man`s head. The single, last line of the poem ‘The Bus,’ indicates
the poet’s attitude towards going to Jejuri. The “old man’s head” represents his belief. The
poet does not want to have a conversation with the old for, as the young generation of his
time, he is indifferent to the religious belief. He, also instruct the traveler not to “step inside
the old man’s head”. The old man is used to symbolize the old generation and the traveler
symbolizes the young generation in modern society. While the former visits the religious
monuments like Jejuri with devotion, the later goes not with such belief.
