NCERT Solutions for Class 11 English Chapter 8 – Silk Road — Nick Middleton
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Notice these expressions in the text. Infer their meaning from the text.
- ducking back : This expression means moving quickly and coming back. This expression is used for Lhambo when she hurriedly enters the tents and returns with a coat for the author as the latter is heading towards Mount Kailash.
- swathe : It refers to a piece of land fraught with snow. The author comes across a swatch while travelling towards Mount Kailash.
- careered down : It means went down quickly without any control. The author is giving an account of his journey towards Mount Kailash.
- manoeuvres : The word refers to the planned movements of soldiers, ships, etc. The author compares a herd of wild ass looking as if they are practicing military exercises.
- cairn of rocks : The phrase refers to a human-made pile (or stack) of stones. The author comes across a cairn of rocks while reaching the top of the pass at 5,515 metres.
- salt flats : The expression refers to a flat area of land, covered with a layer of salt. The author is describing a plateau which has some salt flats.
- billowed : It means filled with air and swelled out. While heading towards Mount Kailash the author and his driver have to face plumes of dust which billowed into the crisp air.
Understanding the Text :
I. Give reasons for the following statements.
Q. The article has been titled ‘Silk Road’.
Ans. The title of the article is quite appropriate. The author was heading towards Mount Kailash as he had to complete kora. The author stayed in Hor, a small town, which was situated on the popular Silk Road which was the main trade road. This is why the narrator christened his article as ‘Silk Road’.
Q. Tibetan mastiffs were popular in China’s imperial courts.
Ans. While on the way to Mount Kailash, the narrator crossed the tents of the nomads, being guarded by a black dog, a Tibetan mastiff. Tibetan mastiffs were brought along the Silk Road in ancient times as a tribute from Tibet. They became popular in China’s imperial courts for their ferociousness. They were blacker than the darkest night, usually wore red bright collars and barked furiously with massive jaws. They exploded into action like a bullet from the gun and were nearly as fast.
Q. The author’s experience at Hor was in stark contrast to earlier accounts of the place.
Ans. The narrator’s experience in Hor came as a stark contrast to the first encounter of the travellers’ who visited the place before. Ekai Kawaguchi, a Japanese monk, had arrived there in 1900. He was so moved by the sanctity of the Manasarovar lake that he burst into tears. A couple of years later, the hallowed waters had a similar effect on Sven Hedin, a Swede who wasn’t prone to emotional outbursts. But the narrator found Hor a grim, miserable place, devoid of any vegetation. Nothing could be seen there except dust, rocks and accumulated refuse.
Q. The author was disappointed with Darchen.
Ans. The author was quite disappointed with Darchen as there were no pilgrims nor was there any hustle and bustle. It did not look like a tourist destination at all. He came across some general stores selling Chinese cigarettes, soap and other basic provisions, as well as the usual strings of prayer flags. In front of one, men gathered in the afternoon for a game of pool. Women washed their long hair in the icy water of a narrow brook. The author thought that had visited the place too early. He should have visited the place at the height of pilgrimage season, when the town was bustling with visitors. The disappointment was that it was difficult doing the Kora all alone with no one to aid him to communicate in English.
Q. Tha author thought that his positive thinking strategy worked well after all.
Ans. When the author met Norbu, a Tibetan aspiring to visit Kailash, he thought that his positive thinking strategy worked after all. He had no companion at all as Daniel and Tsetan had left. Norbu worked in Beijing at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. He was on some sort of fieldwork. He had been writing academic papers about the Kailash kora and its importance in various works of Buddhist literature for many years. Norbu concluded that they could work as a team as both were academicians who had escaped from the library. Finally, the author found an ideal companion in Norbu with whom he could communicate in English
II. Briefly comment on:
Q. The purpose of the author’s journey to Mount Kailash.
Ans. The author undertakes a journey to Mount Kailash to complete the kora which means going around the place. He, being an Englishman, wanted to gain the firsthand experience of this popular form of religious ritual.
Q. The author’s physical condition in Darchen.
Ans. When the author reached Darchen, he was tired and hungry. Besides, he was not feeling well. He was badly affected by the altitude of the place and the cold weather. One of his nostrils was blocked due to the cold wind. He gasped for oxygen and spent a restless night. His chest felt heavy which didin’t let him sleep everytime, he sat up and got some comfort by the relief felt in his chest. The following morning, Tsetan took him to the Darchen Medical College. The doctor examined and provided some relieving medicines. He was asked to follow a five-day course of the medicine. After taking the full course of medicine, he recovered from insomnia and slept well.
Q. The author’s meeting with Norbu.
Ans. In Tsetan’s absence, the author had no companion. Fortunately, he came across Norbu, a Tibetan, who longed to visit Mount Kailash. The author found an ideal companion in Norbu while the latter found a teammate in the former. The author had forgotten his disappointment with Darchen nor was he missing Tsetan anymore. Norbu’s presence compensated everything as he knew English, a medium of communication between book of them.
Q. Tesetan’s support to the author during the journey.
Ans. Tsetan proved to be an all-rounder to the author. He was an expert at driving as he could drive on snow and negotiate the sharpest turns competently. He was equipped with complete knowledge of Mount Kailash. He knew people who proved to be very helpful to the narrator. He was able to talk in English. When the author was physically unwell, Tsetan took him to the medical college where he recovered soon. When Tsetan left, the author missed him a lot.
Q. “As a Buddhist, he told me, he knew that it didn’t really matter if I passed away, but the thought it would be bad for business.”
Ans. Ans. Tsetan told these words to the author. According to Tsetan, if the author died at Mount Kailash, he would reach heaven as Mount Kailash was a sacred place but his death would harm the former’s business. Tsetan was a taxi driver and the author’s death would question the former’s driving capability and will also affect his business of carrying customers to tourist destinations.
Talking about the Text :
I. Discuss in groups of four
Q. The sensitive behaviour of hill-folk.
Ans.
Group 1 : Actually unlike the city-folk, hill-folk are innocent and simple.
Group 2 : Yes, they are not manipulative. They see the things as they are.
Group 3 : They keep nothing in their heart. Whatever they feel, they express innocently and simply.
Group 4 : They are not diplomatic or selfish, but are very innocent and sensitive.
Group 5 : They still weigh human values like cooperation, love, empathy, etc.
Group 6 : Yes, if you approach them, they will certainly behave humanely, without expecting anything from you in return.
I totally agree with the motion that a single event may change the course of the history of a nation. Many years ago, the British entered India. That single event changed the course of the history of India. They enslaved India for 200 years. They only left after ruining the nation completely. They tortured Indians as much as they could. Books are filled with the stories of their cruel treatment towards Indians. It took India very long to recover from the situation the British left them in. So undoubtedly, a single event can change the course of the history of a nation. Although from a hindsight, we see that a fractured nation forget a sense of unity against the British that resulted in the formation of modern Indian state.
Q. The reasons why people willingly undergo the travails of difficult journeys.
Ans.
Group 1 : (Aryan, Seema, Udit, Mohini): History is beset with examples of hard and
adventurous feats.
Group 2 : (David, Nagma, Gurcharan, Anjali): Yes, people love adventurous journeys or
tasks.
Group 3 : They love to explore dangerous places and the thrill it gives.
Group 4 : Journey to Mount Kailash is also an adventurous journey.
Q. The accounts of exotic places in legends and the reality.
Ans. Sammer, Amit, Annop, Vijay.
Sameer: Do you know the pilgrimage to Kailash mountain is known as Kora in local Tibetan language?
Amit : Yeah, while you travel towards mount Kailash you will come across the local tribe called ‘drokbas’. The keep a huge blackdog, a Tibatan mastiff standing guard around their tents.
Anoop : Oh yes! They are very ferocious and were popular in Chinest imperial courts and were kept as hunting dogs.
Vijay : True, they were brought along the Silk Road is ancient times as tribute from Tibbet.
Sameer : Anyway I felt silly to see that only river Sutlej flows from Mansarobar, whereas Hindu mythology mentions four great rivers originating from it.
Thinking about Language :
Q. Notice the kind of English Tsetan uses while talking to the author. How do you think he picked it up?
Ans. Tsetan does speak English but possess only workable knowledge of a language. Maybe he had picked it up from the customers. He is not a proficient English speaker.
(ii) “It’s a cold.” He said finally through Tsetan.
Ans. This dialogue indicates that Tsetan interpreted what the Tibetan doctor said in English, as the doctor did not seem to know English.
Q. Guess the meaning of the following words.
Kora drokba kyang In which language are these words found ?
Ans.
Kora : going around, circumambulating Mount Kailash as a sacred ritual.
Drokba : a long-sleeved sheep skin coat used by men.
Kyang : a wild ass.
These words are found in the Tibetan language
Working with Words :
I. The narrative has many phrases to describe the scenic beauty of the mountainside like :
A flawless half-moon floated in a perfect blue sky.
Scan the text to locate other such picturesque phrases.
Ans.
a. ‘Snow-capped mountains gathering on horizon.’
b. ‘Distant mountain tops with a rose tinted blush.’
Q. Explain the use of the adjectives in the following phrases :
(i) shaggy monsters
Ans. to express
(ii) brackish lakes
Ans. salty lakes
(iii) rickety table
Ans. table not made strongly
(iv) hairpin bend
Ans. narrow, sharp
(v) rudimentary general stores
Ans. basic
Noticing Form :
Q. The account has only a few passive voice sentences. Locate them. In what way does the use of active voice contribute to the style of the narrative.
Ans.
a. Besides, the second tyre he’d changed had been replaced by one that was as smooth as my bald
head.
b. I’d been told that at the height of the pilgrimage season, the town was bustling with visitors.
c. I was served by a Chinese youth in military uniform ….................... .
d. Ekai Kawaguchi, a Japanese monk who had arrived there in 1900, was so moved by the sanctity of the lake that he burst into tears.
e. One of my nostrils was blocked ….............. .
f. ............., I wasn’t convinced .................. .
g. I’d been told that .................... .
h. The plateau is pockmarked with salt flat and brackish lakes, ................................. .
i. It was marked by a large cairn of rocks festooned ...................... .
j. The pilgrims’ trail; was well trodden ......................... .
Active voice talks about the subject/doer. The action is secondary with the object coming after the verb. In passive the sentence becomes primary and the subject/doer becomes secondary, wherever action is more important the author uses passive form, when the subject/doer is more important, the author uses active voice.
Q. Notice this construction : Tsetan was eager to have them fixed. Write five sentences with a similar structure.
Ans.
a. I wanted to have them punished for their crimes.
b. People wanted to have the terrorists killed.
c. The teacher wanted to have Rahul reformed.
d. Father wanted to have his son ace his exams.
e. The thief wanted to have the judge release him.
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