8. Silk Road (Nick Middleton)
Main points of the
Chapter:
· In this chapter, the writer gives a description of his journey to Mount Kailash.
· He takes the same route that was known as the Silk Route or the Silk Road in ancient times.
· It was a trade route that linked China with the West.
· It starts from Sian (China) and ending at the Mediterranean Sea.
· By this route, silk came westward while wool, gold, silver Christianity and Buddhism went eastward.
· Their journey start from Ravu (a small mountain village) to Darchen (at the foot of Mount Kailash)
· There a lady, Lhamo, gave him a long-sleeved sheepskin coat as a present.
· Then they passed the dark tents of nomads.
· A Tibetan Mastiff, a huge dog, guarded each tent.
· His taxi driver, Tsetan, who had brought him all the way from Lhasa went back after dropping him at Darchen.
· By the afternoon the writer reached the small town of Hor.
· Hor is on the shor of Lake Manasarovar.
· This lake as the source of four great rivers: The Indus, The Ganges, The Sutlej and the Brahmaputra.
· Here at Darchen, he suffered a severe cold.
· The next morning, Tsetan took him to the Darchen Medical College.
· Then Tsetan left him at Darchen and returned to Lhasa.
· Then the writer met Norbu in a café, who knew English.
· The author had heard a lot about the beauty of Lake Mansarovar and the holy pilgrimage to Mount Kailash.
· But he found the place very dirty and uninspiring.
8. Silk Road (Nick
Middleton)
Very Short Type Q-Ans.
1. Who is the writer of
‘Silk Road’?
Ans. Nick Middleton
2. Who guarded the
tents of the nomads?
Ans. A Tibetan mastiff
3. Who was Lhamo?
Ans. A Tibetan woman, in village Ravu
4. Who were called the
shaggy monsters?
Ans. The huge black dogs
5. What was the colour
of the mastiff dogs?
Ans. Black
6. Who was Tsetan?
Ans. The writer’s driver
7. Where is Hor
situated?
Ans. On the bank of Lake Manasarovar
8. Which river flows
from the Mansarovar lake?
Ans. The Sutlej
9. Where is Lake
Mansarovar situated?
Ans. On Mount Kailash
10. What was the length
of the silk road in the ancient time?
Ans. 6400 kilometers
11. What is the height
of the top of the pass?
Ans. 5515 meters
12. Who was Norbu?
Ans. A Tibetan
13. What gift did Lhamo
give to the author?
Ans. A full sleeved coat
14. Who was Ekai
Kawaguchi?
Ans. A Japanese monk
15. Where did Tsetan
take the writer for treatment?
Ans. Darchen Medical College
16. Which town is
described as the open air rubbish dump?
Ans. Hor
17. Where did the
author meet Norbu?
Ans. In a café
18. Who gave a
sheepskin coat to the author?
Ans. Lhamo
8.
Silk Road (Nick Middleton)
Short Type
Q-Ans.
1. Why has this
article been titled ‘Silk Road’.
Ans.
The road was named Silk Road because of the silk trade with China by this route. In the chapter the author travels to
Mount Kailash, exploring the Himalayan belt in Tibet. Since the author explored
this region, so the chapter is titled as Silk Road.
2. Who was
Lhamo? What gift did she give to the author?
Ans.
Lhamo was a Tibetan woman. She gave the author a long sleeve sheepskin coat. It was a farewell gift to the author. She gifted the coat
as it would help him rescue the cold weather.
3. What was the
importance of the Silk Road in ancient times?
Ans.
The Silk Road was an ancient trade
route that linked the Western world with the Middle East and Asia. It was a major route for trade between the Roman
Empire and China and later between medieval European kingdoms and China.
4. How does the
writer describes the town of Hor?
Ans.
Hor was a small town on the main east-west highway that followed the old trade route from Lhasa to
Kashmir. The town was on the shore of Lake Mansarovar. But the author does not
feel impressed by it. He found Hor a grim, miserable place.
5. Why was the
author disappointed with Darchen?
Ans.
The author was disappointed with
Darchen because he had some
health problems as cold. He was not able to breathe well and his nasal
was blockage during the night. The place was dirty and punctuated by heaps of
garbage and refuse.
6. What was the
purpose of the author’s journey of Mount Kailash?
Ans.
The purpose of the author's
journey to Mount Kailash and the Mansarovar Lake was to complete the Kora, which was a sacred religious ritual according to Hindu and
Buddhist tradition.
1. Describe the
writer’s experience at Darchen.
Ans.
When the writer reached at Darchen, he was disappointed there because he had some health problems as cold and cough. He was not able to
breathe well and his nostrils were blocked during the night. He felt that if he
slept, he would never wake up again. So he awake all night. The next morning,
Tsetan took him to the Darchen Medical College. There a Tibetan doctor gave him
some medicine. It had a good effect on him and he had sound sleep that night.
There were no pilgrimages in Darchen at that time. The place was dirty and
punctuated by heaps of garbage and refuse. Tsetan has also left him and returned
to Lhasa. So he was disappointed with Darchen.
2. Explain the
author’s journey from Revu to Hor.
Ans.