Question -
Answer -
Bama was a little Dalit girl who was studying in the third class. She would walk home from school with an old bag hanging from her shoulder. It was actually possible to walk the distance in ten minutes. But usually it would take her half an hour to one hour to reach home.
On her way she would while away the time, watching all the fun and games that were going on in the streets, in the shops and in the bazaar. On her way, she would watch the performing monkey, the snake which the snake charmer kept in its box and displayed from time to time.
She would also watch the cyclist who had not got off his bicycle for three days and the maariyaata temple. She would watch the huge bells hanging in the temple, the pongal offerings being cooked in front of the temple, the dried fish stall by the statue of Gandhi. She would also see the sweets stall, the stall selling fried snacks and all the other shops next to each other. Each and everything would pull her to a stand-still and not allow her to go any further.
On her way back home, Bama would sometimes watch addresses by various political parties, or a street play or a puppet show or a stunt performance. All these would happen from time to time. But almost certainly there would be some sort of entertainment going on. All these and some other sights taken together would stop her from going further. That is why Bama would take unusually long time while walking home from school.