"The Bus" is the enigmatic opening poem of Indian poet Arun Kolatkar's book Jejuri (1976). Jejuri tells the story of the author's 1963 journey to a famous Hindu temple in that titular city, an experience that led him to reflect on the withering away of old traditions and made him long for new sources of meaning. In "The Bus," the speaker describes the uncomfortable beginning of this pilgrimage. The ride to Jejuri is "bumpy," literally and figuratively, as the speaker is shut in a bus with covered windows and no view but his own "divided face" mirrored in an old man's glasses. This old man bears the mark of a religious devotee and creates a contrast with the skeptical speaker, who seems conflicted about this journey and unable to step beyond his own thoughts even as he longs for a wider perspective and understanding. "The Bus" is a richly symbolic meditation on faith, doubt, isolation, and the desire for meaning in a changing world.

• Read the full text of “The Bus”

• “The Bus” Summary

• “The Bus” Themes

  • 

    Faith, Doubt, and Uncertainty

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-25
  • 

    Time, Aging, Mortality

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 10-11
    • Lines 13-15
    • Lines 16-20
  • 

    Isolation, Division, and Perspective

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 10-15
    • Lines 22-25

• Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “The Bus”

  • Lines 1-6

    The tarpaulin flaps ...
    ... at your elbow.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 7-12

    You look down ...
    ... get to see.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 13-15

    You seem to ...
    ... between his eyebrows.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 16-21

    Outside, the sun ...
    ... to change direction.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 22-25

    At the end ...
    ... old man's head.

    

    

    

    

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• “The Bus” Symbols

  • 

    The Covered Windows and the Sunbeams

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-6: “The tarpaulin flaps are buttoned down / on the windows of the state transport bus / all the way up to Jejuri. / A cold wind keeps whipping / and slapping a corner of the tarpaulin / at your elbow.”
    • Lines 16-18: “Outside, the sun has risen quietly. / It aims through an eyelet in the tarpaulin / and shoots at the old man's glasses.”
  • 

    The Reflection in the Glasses

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Lines 10-12: “Your own divided face in a pair of glasses / on an old man's nose / is all the countryside you get to see.”
    • Lines 22-23: “At the end of a bumpy ride / with your own face on either side”
  • 

    The Caste Mark

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Lines 13-15: “You seem to move continually forward / towards a destination / just beyond the caste mark between his eyebrows.”
  • 

    The Bus

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-9: “The tarpaulin flaps are buttoned down / on the windows of the state transport bus / all the way up to Jejuri. / A cold wind keeps whipping / and slapping a corner of the tarpaulin / at your elbow. / You look down the roaring road. / You search for the signs of daybreak in / what little light spills out of the bus.”

• “The Bus” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

  • Imagery

    

    

    

    

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    Where imagery appears in the poem:

    • Lines 4-6: “A cold wind keeps whipping / and slapping a corner of the tarpaulin / at your elbow.”
    • Line 7: “You look down the roaring road.”
    • Lines 16-20: “Outside, the sun has risen quietly. / It aims through an eyelet in the tarpaulin / and shoots at the old man's glasses. / A sawed off sunbeam comes to rest / gently against the driver's right temple.”

  • Metaphor

    

    

    

    

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    Where metaphor appears in the poem:

    • Lines 13-15: “You seem to move continually forward / towards a destination / just beyond the caste mark between his eyebrows.”
    • Lines 17-18: “It aims through an eyelet in the tarpaulin / and shoots at the old man's glasses.”
    • Lines 19-20: “A sawed off sunbeam comes to rest / gently against the driver's right temple.”
    • Line 25: “you don't step inside the old man's head.”

  • Enjambment

    

    

    

    

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    Where enjambment appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-2: “down / on”
    • Lines 4-5: “whipping / and”
    • Lines 5-6: “tarpaulin / at”
    • Lines 8-9: “in / what”
    • Lines 10-11: “glasses / on”
    • Lines 11-12: “nose / is”
    • Lines 14-15: “destination / just”
    • Lines 19-20: “rest / gently”

  • Consonance

    

    

    

    

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    Where consonance appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “tarpaulin flaps”
    • Line 2: “state transport”
    • Line 4: “cold wind,” “keeps,” “whipping”
    • Line 5: “slapping,” “tarpaulin”
    • Line 7: “roaring road”
    • Line 9: “little light,” “spills”
    • Line 10: “face,” “glasses”
    • Line 12: “countryside,” “see”
    • Lines 13-14: “forward / towards”
    • Line 16: “Outside,” “sun,” “risen”
    • Line 17: “eyelet,” “tarpaulin”
    • Line 18: “shoots,” “glasses”
    • Line 19: “sawed,” “sunbeam,” “comes,” “rest”
    • Line 20: “gently,” “right temple”
    • Line 22: “end,” “ride”
    • Line 23: “face,” “side”
    • Line 25: “don't,” “inside,” “old,” “head”

• “The Bus” Vocabulary

  Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

  • Tarpaulin
  • Jejuri
  • Caste mark
  • Eyelet
  • Sawed off
  • (Location in poem: Line 1: “The tarpaulin flaps are buttoned down”; Lines 4-5: “A cold wind keeps whipping / and slapping a corner of the tarpaulin”; Line 17: “It aims through an eyelet in the tarpaulin”)

• Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “The Bus”

  • Form

  • Meter

  • Rhyme Scheme

• “The Bus” Speaker

• “The Bus” Setting

• Literary and Historical Context of “The Bus”

• More “The Bus” Resources

  • External Resources

    • A Memory of Kolatkar — Read a posthumous tribute to Kolatkar that describes his legacy (and includes his delightfully wide-ranging list of influences).

    • The Poem Aloud — Listen to a reading of the poem.

    • Kolatkar and Rushdie — Read novelist Salman Rushdie's anecdote about meeting the irascible, irreverent Kolatkar.

    • A Brief Biography — Learn more about Kolatkar's life.

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