1. V.G. KET’S
V. G. VAZE COLLEGE
OF ARTS, SCIENCE, & COMMERCE
MITHAGAR (ROAD, MULUND (E), MUMBAI – 400 081.
ROLL NO: B018.
NAME: VISHWAKARMA. PINKY. S
ROLL NO: B042
NAME: RALKAR. NIKITA. P
ROLL NO: B052
NAME: MANEK. JINAL. B
CLASS: F.Y.B.COM BANKING & INSURANCE.
SUBJECT: EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION – II.
TITLE: ‘THE BUS STOPPED’ BY TABBISH KHAIR.
A PROJECT IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE DEGREE OF BACHLOR OF COMMERCE
1

2. ABOUT TABISH KHAIR
Khair was born in 1966 in Ranchi (then part of Bihar, now the capital of Jharkhand) and grew up in
his hometown, Gaya. Gaya is a small but historically-significant town in Bihar: it is the most holy of all
towns (after Benaras) for many Hindus and it is also the place where Gautama, founder of Buddhism, had
attained enlightenment. As such, while situated in one of the most backward and neglected parts of India,
it is surprisingly international -- at least during the tourism season. Khair finished secondary school from
the local Nazareth Academy and, after dropping out of medical studies, went on to do a BA in History,
Sociology and English from Gaya College and a Masters in English from the local Magadh University.
While a college student, he also worked as the district reporter for the Patna Edition of the Times of India.
Later, following some trouble with local fundamentalists (see 'Links'), he left for Delhi, where he worked
as a Staff Reporter for the Times of India. Khair had his first collection of poems, 'My World', accepted
for publication by a major national house (Rupa & Co., Delhi) before he left his hometown. It was
favourably reviewed by senior poets and critics like Keki N. Daruwalla, Adil Jussawalla, Vilas Sarang
and Shiv K. Kumar. While in Delhi, Khair brought out two other collections and started working on his
first novel, 'An Angel in Pyjamas', which was later published by Harper Collins and described by India
Today as "the calling card of a writer with the power to fascinate. After about four years as a staff
reporter, Khair left for Copenhagen, Denmark, to do a PhD, which he completed in 2000. It was
published as 'Babu Fictions' by Oxford University Press in 2001 (a paperback edition came out in 2005)
and has since become one of the important secondary texts on Indian English fiction. In 2000, Khair also
published a collection of poems, 'Where Parallel Lines Meet' (Penguin), which is considered to be "one of
the most significant collections in recent years by an Indian writing in English." It included poems for
which he had won the prestigious All India Poetry Prize. Khair's second novel, 'The Bus Stopped', was
published by Picador in 2004. Along with novels by Hari Kunzru and Nadeem Aslam, it was short-listed
for the Encore Award (UK). Khair has also co-edited various books and journals, including a casebook of
essays on Amitav Ghosh (Permanent Black, Delhi) and 'Other Routes', an anthology of pre-1900 Asian
and African travel writing, with a foreword by Amitav Ghosh (Signal Books, Oxford, and Indiana UP).
Born and educated mostly in Bihar, India, Tabish Khair is the author of various books, including the
poetry collection, Where Parallel Lines Meet (Penguin, 2000), the study, Babu Fictions: Alienation in
Indian English Novels (Oxford UP, 2001) and the novel, The Bus Stopped (Picador, 2004), which was
short-listed for the Encore Award. A French translation will be out in 2010 and an Italian translation is on
the anvil. His honours and prizes include the All India Poetry Prize (awarded by the Poetry Society and
the British Council) and honorary fellowship (for creative writing) of the Baptist University of Hong
Kong. Other Routes, an anthology of pre-modern travel texts by Africans and Asians, co-edited and
introduced by Khair (with a foreword by Amitav Ghosh) was published by Signal Books and Indiana
2

3. University Press in 2005 and 2006 respectively. His work has appeared in various anthologies of poetry
and fiction, including The Bloodaxe Book of Contemporary Indian Poetry, City Improbable: Writings on
Delhi, The New Anthem, Fear Factor: Terror Incognito, Delhi Noir and Penguin's 60 Indian Poets.
Academic papers, reviews, essays, fiction and poems by Khair have appeared in Indian (Hindu, Times of
India, Biblio: A Review of Books, Indian Book Review, Economic Times, PEN, DNA, Telegraph,
Outlook etc), British (Guardian, New Left Review, Wasafiri, Third Text, Independent, New Statesman,
First Post, Journal of Commonwealth Literature, Journal of Postcolonial Writing, London Magazine, P.N.
Review, Salt, Metre, Thumbscrew, Stand etc), Danish (Information, Politiken, Weekendavisen etc),
American, German, Italian, South African, Chinese and other publications. Khair's novel, Filming: A
Love Story (2007), examines memory and guilt against the backdrop of the Partition and the 1940s
Bombay film industry. Ranked by Khushwant Singh as one of the best twenty novels in English by
Indians or writers of Indian origin, it received positive and rave reviews in British and Asian publications
and was short-listed for India's main fiction award. A Danish translation, called Film, came out in the
winter of 2009 to positive reviews in the Danish press. Muslim Modernities: Essays on Moderation and
Mayhem, a collection of topical articles by Khair written for newspapers and journals, was compiled and
edited as a book by Renu Kaul Verma (Vitasta Publishers), and Khair's first illustrated book for children
(The Glum Peacock) was published by Zubaan Books -- both from India in 2008. Khair's study, The
Gothic, Postcolonialism and Otherness: Ghosts from Elsewhere, released in the UK and USA by Palgrave
(Macmillan) in Winter 2009, has evoked much interest. He has completed a new novel, set in Victorian
London published by Harper Collins as The Thing About Thugs and his first collection of poems in a
decade, Man of Glass. Khair mostly lives in Aarhus, Denmark.
3

4. SUMMARY
Khair has an observant eye, especially the signs that line the route, whether advertisements for
toothpaste or cigarettes The Bus Stopped weaves an evocative portrait of rural and small-town India
through a single journey on the rickety private bus that plies the Gaya to Phansa route.The varied cast of
characters on the trip provides a glimpse of some of the many facts of modern India. Disparate lives
intersect on the journey: the foul-mouthed driver Mangal Singh, a novelist manqué, abandoned by his
wife and exploited by his cousin and employer; Mrs Mirchandani, a smug and prosperous Hindu
matriarch; Farhana Begum, a eunuch nostalgic for the glory days when hijras were more than prostitutes
and beggars at weddings; Rasmus, a frustrated businessman of mixed Indian and Danish descent; Chottu,
the servant boy, fleeing the scene of a terrible crime; Zeenat a sexy "street woman", and a tribal woman
carrying a tragic bundle. Yet Khair is more engaged by points of departure and destination than by the
journey itself. The moments at the beginning and the close of the novel, when the first-person narrator
describes his childhood home, are the most beautifully written passages in the book. This is a novel
haunted by houses, by "their scratched geography, their shadowed histories, their many voices of noon
and curtaintude, evening and smokeliness". Khair's prose is arrestingly beautiful when he describes the
echoes and intersections of life: both in the once grand, now diminished, homes of the aristocracy, and in
the modern lower middle-class apartment blocks of Patna, where "the walls are membranes through
whose tight secrecy permeates much that can only be heard, not seen". At times, Khair's lightness of
touch, his eye for detail and benevolent affection for his characters, recalls the writing of Amit Chaudhuri.
Like Chaudhuri, Khair can be both lyrical and observant, imbuing the quotidian with emotional depth.
The crucial difference between the two writers is that realism is a moral imperative in Chaudhuri's work;
his vision is driven by a writerly fidelity to his characters, whereas Khair is always more engaged by the
message he is trying to convey than by his novelistic duty towards his creations. Khair's realism is also
compromised by his taste for the melodramatic. The conclusion of The Bus Stopped punishes the
parochial prejudices of Hindu nationalists, but does so in a way that stretches the reader's credulity
beyond endurance, highlighting all that is unsatisfying about the storyline. Khair is a remarkable writer
and the fragments of a great book are buried here, glimpsed in the gorgeously poetic first- and second-
person portraits of life in small-town India. But, as a novel, The Bus Stopped adds up to less than the sum
of its parts.
4

5. HOMES
In this book writer has described his grandfather’s home in which there were more than sahabs,
bibis and babus, it was the servants who knew the lay of the two houses, in which writer grew up in their
scratched geography, their shadowed histories, their many voices of noon and curtaintude, evening and
smokeliness. Because more than the masters there were more of servants in two houses. Both the houses
had grown up and wizened with them. The two houses were built by their masters, it is not only built by
the material available but also with their dreams, hopes and eccentric. Firstly when the writer was small
he used to stay at his grandfather’s home but at the age of five or six they shifted to the new house which
was been newly polished with mosaictile floor. The white one was built by the writer’s grandfather who
was a doctor, educationist, and amateur archaeologist with some minor finds to his name. His
grandfather’s home was built during the second world war, when cement was strictly rationed. The white
house had particularly its relationship with servants. There were different quarters for the servants in
which they use to stay. The quarters was constructed around a large courtyard and attached to the kitchen
and the storeroom. His father home was built in the late sixties. The writer’s father believed in continuity.
It was built to resist the major earthquakes which hit the region in every fifty years or so. His father’s
home had only three room servant’s quarter at the back. And the servants who were new to father’s home
would prefer to sleep at verandas or in guestroom’s .
ABOUT THE JOURNEY
The journey is between Gaya to Phansa. A bus was moving through rural areas and as passengers
get on off, their stories are interleaved with those of the bus and conductor. Travellers thinking of their
stories, conversations that reveal the past, events that are seemingly out of control but which are, as you
come to realise later, firmly in the hands of a skilled storyteller. Indian journey, as the bus rambles
through Bihar roads, rumbling and lurching into sudden stops. The flashing-by of graffiti can be either
whimsical or plain banal-walls crawl in Devnagri exhorting travellers to "Proust Padho" to cigarettes that
promise to set you free. A government’s jeep past the bus, blaring its horn in typical impertinence, a
family on a motorcycle overtook the bus, a woman was squating beside the road, selling popcorn.
KHANSAMA WAZIR MIAN
A man from an old feudal house who remembers his Khansama Wazir Mian of the elaborate menus
and manners. He was the servant at writer’s grandfather’s home. He is bearded, massive,and
uncompromising person. Earlier he had been the head cook of Rajah of Manipur or some such colonial
nobility. He was a literate servant. He wrote Urdu with some fluency and could calculate Hindu Arabic
Novels. He was known for Continenetal and Muglai cooking. He had been the chief chef of the Rajah of
5

6. Manipur. He meant for flowing pathan suits with overall with kind of tall chefs head dress snow white
and immaculately creased that only five stars hotel cooks wear those days. Wazir Mian's son with the
Brylcreemed hair and bellbottoms who journeys on in his "private bus".
ZEENAT
Zeenat, the sexy "street woman" employed to the house next door to one of the passenger. While
travelling through the private bus he remembered Zeenat who was the writer’s teenage crush at the age of
sixteen. She worked at the neighbours house. Zeenat was the last maid servant left in that house. Writer’s
parents found her “brazen” and “waton” .
MANGAL SINGH AND SHANKAR
Mangal Singh was the driver of the bus in which the writer and another passengers were travelling.
The driver Mangal Singh whose disappointments and boorishness hide a confused humanity and at every
sense of observation. Shankar was the conductor of the bus. Driver Mangal Singh had dressed in torn but
clean clothes , shirt and cotton trousers. He seems to his own world.
MR and MRS. SHARMA
Mr. Sharma is junior level officer in some government office in town. No one knew in which office
he worked whether it is electricity department or PWD and that was the why no one knew his first name.
He had three daughters, eldest daughter completed civil service exam for three times and twice got
preliminary marks but not more than that. The youngest daughter preparing for civil service exam for
very first time and second daughter is going to try for third time for same exam. Mrs. Sharma always
trying to keeping herself busy in all household chorches with its barred and netted window.
CHOTTU:
Chottu was a thirteen-fourteen years old servant who was working in Mrs. Prasad’s house. He
was not quickest couriers though; but he never loses any opportunity to linger on various landings,
gossiping with other servants, women, and children’s. He knows more people in neighbourhood than Mrs.
Prasad does. He was bought to Mrs Prasad by villagers saying that 75% of his salary would be money-
ordered to his father every month and sometimes He used to spent his 25% of salary with older boys of
nukkad. Mrs Prasad believing in education so she always trying to give some lessons to him but he does
not see much point in getting education. He always thought that education is something not really for
likes of him. He makes a point of disappearing right when Mrs. Prasad was about call him to do his
homework. He dressed as smartly as he can and carries a comb all the times and he also had collection of
cheap plastic sunglasses. He had seen many Hindi movies and knows all shortcuts to earn easy money,
6

7. though he had never had any. He sees the world quite clearly, though tinted one fixed shade by his own
deprivation, as if he was wearing a pair of plastic sunglasses all the times. At the end of the story he
killed Mrs. Prasad and ran away with a lot of money and jewellery.
RASMUS and HARI:
Rasmus was a frustrated businessman of mixed Indian and Danish anscent. He had come to India to
meet state Government Minister. Hari was the driver of Rasmus’s car who was trying to get started the
car. But at that time Rasmus told that why don’t he sell this junk and get a view Maruti. Rasmus felt very
bad hearing such a bad comment on his car. Hari was a person who got a lucrative job where he was paid
three times less than his ability. He was one of the two or three drivers in Gaya who could understand
English. He used to worked as a tourist guide in Bodh-Gaya and Nalanda; where he used to pick up more
of English words than most drivers require. But still his best tourist language was not English but
Japanese. Rasmus had come to India to meet a State Government Minister. But while going to Phansa in
his car, the car was not in condition to make him reach to Phansa. While waiting nearby his car he got a
bus in which he thought to go to meet Minister, but while going he orders Hari to repair the car and reach
Phansa. While travelling he recollects his old memories when he was 7 years old and had come to India
with his parents. As soon as he reaches to Phansa he did not find hari with the car Ambassador. Rasmus
was irritated by the fact that Hari had repaired the car and managed to reach Phansa after he reaches .
Now Rasmus ought to appreciate Hari’s skills as mechanic, for he had caste serious aspersions on those
skills. Rasmus then gone to meet minister with his private secretary. After meeting Minister Rasmus felt
that he had lifted a burden from his soul. Then he goes back to guesthouse for getting freshenup before
the return trip.
OLD WOMEN (MRS.MIRCHANDANI)
There was a old lady sitting beside the writer named as Mrs. Mirchandani. The old women was
sixty years old but she was sharp and alert. When the bus stopped near the tea shop the old women
ordered a special tea, the special tea was rupees fifty paisa but the shopkeeper were demanding one
rupees she start fighting with the shopkeeper to give him fifty paisa back. By looking at her such
behaviour the one would think that she belong from a poor family. But the way she dressed, talk with
others that indicate that she belong from sophisticated family. She start talking with the writer and started
telling about her that she first used to stay in refugee area at Lahore they have to share the room with a
muslim family . then afterwards they had been shifted to east delhi at that time there were a very rare
house in east delhi her husband were sold his house in East Delhi and buy a garments shop in Phansa.
7

8. His husband was nine years elder than her. When her husband died they had to start it again. They had
only 1000 rupees note and old women had to sell her all jewellery except Mangalsutra. They used to live
very hard life. They had shop but it was not enough for their daily bread. His son name Vijay who had not
studied in good English medium school. Than the old women sat beside next to the lady named as
Farhana. The old lady asked her name and why asked her that why she was travelling alone. She
answered that her named is parvati and theres no one in her family. Then that women told that don’t say it
again that there’s no one your family she told that she would be her mother. Parvati had married with
Vijay a son of Mrs. Mirchandani (old women). And parvati become a Mrs. Mirchandani.
TRIBAL WOMEN
The tribal women was also travelling by that bus. She was carrying a child and she was going to
Phansa. One man wrongly touches her child and he realizes that the child had become cold, then he came
to know that the child was dead. But that women answered to everyone that child was ill and so was
going to Phansa. She even did not know that where his husband is staying in Phansa. It took a lot of time
to convince that women that her child is dead.
8

9. CONCLUSION
(B018)
There was a very good experience by reading this novel. The novel is truly interesting while
reading. The writer has described a story in a very good manner so that the reader can easily understand
it. The writer has share his experience while travelling through journey.
(B042)
I have read a novel for a very first time and by reading this novel I realise that the novel reading is
truly interesting. It takes me lot of time to complete this novel. Firstly when I start reading this novel I
found a bit boring as this was my first book but later on as continued to read found interesting.
(B052)
I had read two to three love stories, but this was my first novel for which I had to read as per the
presentation and not according to my interest. At the first when I had started to read I found this novel a
bit confusing as the stories were not in a serial but after reading twice thrice, I got the proper knowledge
and also knew that what exactly the writer had conveyed was about his journey in provisional area of
Bihar and the different natures of the humans in the bus in this geonarrative novel.
9

10. CONCLUSION
(B018)
There was a very good experience by reading this novel. The novel is truly interesting while
reading. The writer has described a story in a very good manner so that the reader can easily understand
it. The writer has share his experience while travelling through journey.
(B042)
I have read a novel for a very first time and by reading this novel I realise that the novel reading is
truly interesting. It takes me lot of time to complete this novel. Firstly when I start reading this novel I
found a bit boring as this was my first book but later on as continued to read found interesting.
(B052)
I had read two to three love stories, but this was my first novel for which I had to read as per the
presentation and not according to my interest. At the first when I had started to read I found this novel a
bit confusing as the stories were not in a serial but after reading twice thrice, I got the proper knowledge
and also knew that what exactly the writer had conveyed was about his journey in provisional area of
Bihar and the different natures of the humans in the bus in this geonarrative novel.
9