“The Bus” by Arun Kolatkar
1. Introduction
“The Bus” is a poem by Arun Kolatkar. It is the opening poem of his famous poetry collection Jejuri (1976). The collection is based on a journey to Jejuri, a famous pilgrimage town in Maharashtra associated with the temple of Khandoba. The poem describes a bus journey, but beneath this simple journey, Kolatkar explores deeper ideas such as faith, doubt, isolation, identity, old age, and the journey of life. (LitCharts)
2. About the Poet
Arun Kolatkar was an important modern Indian poet who wrote in both English and Marathi. His poetry is known for:
Simple and everyday language
Sharp visual images
Humour and irony
Modern and skeptical thinking
Questioning religious beliefs and traditions
In Jejuri, Kolatkar presents the experience of visiting a religious place from the point of view of a person who is curious but also doubtful about traditional religious faith. (LitCharts)
3. Background of the Poem
The speaker is travelling on a State Transport bus to Jejuri. The journey takes place at night or early morning.
The bus windows are covered with tarpaulin flaps, so the traveller cannot properly see the outside world. Inside the bus, he notices an old man wearing glasses. The speaker sees his own reflection in the old man's glasses.
This ordinary experience becomes symbolic. The speaker begins to think about:
His own identity
His separation from other people
Religious differences
The difference between youth and old age
The uncertainty of life's journey
Thus, the bus journey is both a physical journey and a symbolic journey. (LitCharts)
4. Simple Summary of the Poem
The poem begins with the description of a State Transport bus travelling towards Jejuri. The windows of the bus are covered with tarpaulin flaps.
A cold wind blows strongly and makes one corner of the tarpaulin move and slap against the traveller's elbow.
The traveller looks outside and tries to see signs of morning. However, because the bus windows are covered, he cannot see the countryside properly.
Then he sees something interesting: his own face is reflected in the glasses of an old man sitting nearby. Because there are two lenses in the glasses, his face appears divided.
The traveller feels that he is continuously moving forward towards a destination. The old man has a caste or religious mark on his forehead, and the traveller imagines his destination as being somewhere beyond that mark.
Finally, the sun rises. A ray of sunlight enters through a small hole in the tarpaulin and falls on the old man's glasses. Another ray of sunlight falls near the driver's temple. The poet compares this ray to a sawed-off gun, creating a slightly threatening image.
The bus finally reaches its destination. However, even after sitting close to the old man throughout the journey, the traveller does not truly understand the old man's thoughts or beliefs. The poem ends with the idea that the traveller does not enter the old man's mind.
The ending suggests a failure of complete understanding between two human beings. (LitCharts)
5. Stanza-wise / Line-by-Line Explanation
Opening: The Covered Bus
The poem describes a bus travelling to Jejuri. Its windows are covered with tarpaulin.
Meaning:
The passengers cannot clearly see the outside world.
Deeper meaning:
The covered windows can symbolize the limitations of human understanding. Like the traveller inside the bus, human beings move through life without always knowing clearly:
Where they are going
What lies ahead
What the real meaning of life is
The traveller is physically trapped inside the bus, and symbolically trapped within his own limited understanding.
The Cold Wind
A cold wind keeps moving and striking the tarpaulin.
Simple meaning:
The journey is uncomfortable. The wind keeps disturbing the passenger.
Poetic effect:
The poet gives the wind an active and almost human quality. The words suggesting striking or beating make the journey feel restless.
Deeper meaning:
Although the traveller cannot see the outside world, he can still feel its presence. The wind reminds him that there is a larger world outside his limited vision.
Looking for Daybreak
The traveller looks towards the road and searches for signs of morning.
Simple meaning:
It is still dark, and he is waiting for sunrise.
Symbolic meaning:
Daybreak can symbolize knowledge, understanding, or enlightenment.
The traveller wants to see clearly. This may also represent his search for spiritual meaning during his journey to Jejuri.
However, he cannot easily find this understanding.
The Old Man's Glasses
The traveller sees his own face reflected in the glasses of an old man.
This is one of the most important images in the poem.
Why is the face "divided"?
The old man's spectacles have two lenses, so the traveller sees two parts or reflections of his face.
Symbolic meaning:
The "divided face" may represent the traveller's divided personality.
He is perhaps divided between:
Faith and doubt
Tradition and modernity
Curiosity and skepticism
Religious belief and rational thinking
Even when he looks at another person, he mainly sees himself. This suggests that human beings often find it difficult to go beyond their own thoughts and understand other people.
6. The Old Man
The old man is an important figure in the poem.
He may represent:
Traditional India
Religious faith
Old age
Experience
A generation strongly connected with traditional beliefs
The traveller, on the other hand, may represent:
Modern India
Skepticism
Questioning
Individual thinking
Thus, the old man and the traveller create a contrast between tradition and modernity.
7. The Caste Mark
The old man has a mark on his forehead.
Literal meaning:
It is a religious or caste-related mark.
Symbolic meaning:
The mark represents a difference between the traveller and the old man.
It can symbolize:
Religious identity
Social divisions
Traditional beliefs
The distance between two individuals
The traveller seems to be moving towards a destination beyond this mark, but he cannot completely cross the psychological and spiritual distance separating him from the old man. (LitCharts)
8. The Rising Sun and the Sunbeam
Eventually, the sun rises.
A thin ray of sunlight enters the bus through a small hole in the tarpaulin.
The poet uses surprisingly violent language to describe the sunbeam.
Why is the sunbeam compared to a gun?
Normally, sunlight represents:
Hope
Life
A new beginning
Knowledge
But Kolatkar's image also gives the sunlight a threatening quality.
This suggests that the poet sees life in a complex way. Every new day brings life forward, but it also brings human beings closer to:
Old age
Death
The final destination of life
Therefore, the journey of the bus can also be seen as a journey from birth towards death. (LitCharts)
9. Meaning of the Final Line
The poem ends with the idea:
The traveller does not step inside the old man's head.
This means that the traveller does not truly understand what the old man thinks or believes.
They have travelled together physically, but they remain mentally and emotionally separate.
This ending suggests:
Human beings can remain strangers even when they are physically close.
It is difficult to completely understand another person's mind.
The modern skeptical traveller cannot easily understand traditional religious faith.
The journey has not removed the distance between the two people.
This is a quiet but powerful ending.
10. Major Themes
1. Faith and Doubt
This is one of the central themes.
The journey is towards a religious place, but the traveller does not appear to have simple or unquestioning faith.
He is curious, but also doubtful.
The old man may represent traditional faith, while the traveller represents a modern person who questions religion.
Therefore, the poem shows a conflict between:
Faith ↔ Doubt
2. Isolation and Lack of Understanding
The traveller sits near the old man but does not understand him.
Even though they are physically together, they remain mentally separate.
The final line strongly emphasizes this inability to understand another person.
3. Tradition versus Modernity
The old man can represent traditional religious India.
The traveller can represent modern, questioning India.
The poem does not completely reject either side. Instead, it shows the distance between these two different ways of looking at life.
4. Identity and the Divided Self
The traveller sees his "divided face."
This suggests that he may not completely understand himself.
He is divided between different thoughts and beliefs.
The poem therefore explores the question:
Who am I, and what do I truly believe?
5. The Journey of Life
The bus journey can be read as a symbol of human life.
Like passengers on a bus:
We move forward.
We do not fully control the journey.
We cannot clearly see everything ahead.
We meet different people.
We eventually reach a destination.
The journey of the bus therefore becomes a metaphor for the journey of life.
6. Old Age and Mortality
The presence of the old man reminds the traveller of aging.
The journey continuously moves forward, just as human life continuously moves towards old age and death.
The rising sun, although beautiful, is also connected with the movement of time.
11. Important Symbols
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| The Bus | The journey of life |
| Covered windows | Limited knowledge and understanding |
| Cold wind | The outside world disturbing the traveller |
| Daybreak | Knowledge, awareness, or enlightenment |
| Divided face | Inner conflict and divided identity |
| Old man | Tradition, faith, experience, and old age |
| Caste/religious mark | Social, religious, and psychological divisions |
| Sunbeam | Life and knowledge, but also time and mortality |
| Journey to Jejuri | Search for meaning and spiritual understanding |
12. Poetic Devices
1. Imagery
Kolatkar creates strong visual images:
The dark bus
The covered windows
The old man's glasses
The divided reflection
The rising sun
The thin sunbeam
These images make the journey vivid and realistic.
2. Symbolism
Almost every important object has a deeper meaning.
For example:
The bus is more than a vehicle.
The journey is more than a journey.
The covered windows are more than physical coverings.
They all suggest deeper questions about human life and understanding.
3. Personification
The wind is described as if it has human actions, striking and disturbing the tarpaulin.
This makes the natural world seem active and alive.
4. Metaphor
The bus journey can be understood as a metaphor for the journey of life.
The traveller's search for daylight can also be seen as a search for knowledge or spiritual understanding.
5. Irony
There is irony in the fact that the traveller is going to a religious place but seems uncertain and skeptical about religion.
There is also irony in the fact that he spends a long journey near the old man but still does not understand him.
13. Form and Style
The poem is written in free verse.
This means:
There is no fixed rhyme scheme.
There is no regular meter.
The lines are of different lengths.
The language is simple and conversational.
The poem is also written using "you" instead of "I."
Why does the poet use "you"?
The use of "you" creates distance between the speaker and himself.
It may suggest that the traveller is observing himself from outside.
It also allows the reader to feel as if they themselves are travelling on the bus.
The poem's short sections and free-verse style create the feeling of a journey made up of small, changing observations. (LitCharts)
14. Critical Appreciation
“The Bus” is a simple poem with deep meaning. On the surface, it describes an ordinary bus journey to Jejuri. However, beneath this simple description, Arun Kolatkar explores important questions about faith, identity, life, death, and human relationships.
The greatest strength of the poem is its simplicity. Kolatkar does not use difficult language. Instead, he uses ordinary objects such as:
A bus
A tarpaulin
An old man's glasses
A sunbeam
These ordinary things gradually become symbols of deeper human experiences.
The poem also presents the contrast between traditional faith and modern skepticism. The traveller does not simply accept the religious world around him. He observes, questions, and remains uncertain.
The final line is especially powerful because it shows the limits of human understanding. The traveller can see the old man, sit beside him, and travel with him, but he cannot truly enter his mind.
Thus, the poem suggests that physical closeness does not always create emotional or intellectual understanding.
15. Main Message of the Poem
The poem suggests that life is a journey in which human beings:
Move continuously forward.
Search for meaning.
Have limited knowledge.
Experience doubt and uncertainty.
Meet people whom they may never completely understand.
Remain divided within themselves.
The journey to a religious place does not automatically give the traveller faith or enlightenment. He continues to question and observe.
16. Short Exam Answer: Summary
“The Bus” by Arun Kolatkar is the opening poem of Jejuri. It describes a night journey in a State Transport bus travelling towards Jejuri. The bus windows are covered with tarpaulin, and the traveller cannot see the outside world clearly. He searches for signs of daybreak but mostly sees his own divided reflection in the glasses of an old man. The old man represents traditional faith and old age, while the traveller represents a modern and skeptical mind. When the sun rises, rays of sunlight enter the bus. Finally, the journey ends, but the traveller still does not understand the old man's thoughts and beliefs. The poem explores themes of faith and doubt, isolation, tradition and modernity, identity, old age, and the journey of life.
17. Important Questions for Examination
Q1. Discuss “The Bus” as a poem about faith and doubt.
Answer points:
Journey is towards a religious place.
Traveller appears skeptical.
Old man represents traditional faith.
Traveller represents questioning modernity.
The poem shows uncertainty rather than complete belief.
Q2. Explain the significance of the “divided face.”
Answer points:
Literal reflection in the old man's spectacles.
Symbol of divided personality.
Conflict between faith and doubt.
Suggests inability to see beyond oneself.
Q3. What does the old man represent?
Answer points:
Tradition
Religious faith
Old age
Experience
Older generation
Q4. Explain the significance of the final line.
Answer points:
Traveller cannot understand the old man's mind.
Physical closeness does not create understanding.
Symbolizes distance between modern skepticism and traditional faith.
Emphasizes human isolation.
Q5. How is the bus a symbol in the poem?
Answer points:
Symbol of life's journey.
Passengers move forward without full control.
Covered windows symbolize limited knowledge.
Journey moves towards an unknown final destination.
One-Line Conclusion
“The Bus” is not just about travelling to Jejuri; it is about the human journey towards meaning, knowledge, faith, and understanding—while remaining uncertain and divided within oneself. (LitCharts)
