Silk Road Questions and Answers Class 11 English
Question 1.
When they set out on their journey.
Answer:
The narrator was moving towards Mount
Kailash to complete the kora. He recalls the day, when they set out from Ravu,
with nostalgia. It was a ‘perfect’ early morning to start a journey. The clouds
looked like long French loaves glimmering pink as the rising sun shone on them.
The far-away mountain peaks glowed with a rose-tinted colour. Lhamo presented
him with one of the long-sleeved sheepskin coats that all the men there wore,
for protection against cold.
Question 2.
Describe the initial phase of their journey.
Answer:
As they set out, they took a shorter
route to get off the Changtang. It was a road that would take them south¬west,
almost directly towards Mount Kailash. It required crossing several quite high
mountain passes. Tsetan was confident that if there was no snow they would have
a comfortable journey but that they would not know till they got there.
From the gently sloping hills of
Ravu, the short cut took them across vast open plains with nothing in them
except a few antelopes grazing in the arid pastures. As they moved ahead, the
plains became more stony than grassy. There, the antelopes were replaced by
herds of wild ass.
Question 3.
What did the narrator notice about the ‘drokbas’?
Answer:
As the narrator went further up the
hills from the rocky wasteland, he noticed the solitary drokbas tending their
flocks. Sometimes these well-wrapped figures would halt briefly and stare at
their car. They seldom waved as they crossed. When the road took them close to
the sheep, the animals would swerve away from the speeding car.
Question 4.
The narrator was fascinated by the awesome mastiffs. Why?
Answer:
Crossing the nomads’ dark tents
pitched in remoteness, the narrator noticed that a huge black dog, a Tibetan
mastiffs, guarded most of the tents. These monstrous creatures would tilt their
great big heads when someone moved towards them. As they drew closer, these
dogs would race straight towards them, like a bullet from a gun. These dogs
were pitch black and usually wore bright red collars.
They barked furiously with their
gigantic jaws and were so fearless that they ran straight into the path of
their vehicle. They would chase them for about a hundred metres. The narrator
could understand why Tibetan mastiffs became popular in China’s imperial courts
as hunting dogs.
Question 5.
How did Tsetan manoeuvre across the first patch of snow that they came across?
Answer:
Tsetan stopped at a tight bend and
got out because the snow had covered the path in front of them. This
unexpected-depository was too steep for their vehicle to mount. Tsetan stepped
on to the covered snow, and stamped his foot to determine how sturdy it was.
The snow was not deep but the car could turn over. Tsetan took handfuls of dirt
and threw them across the frozen surface. Daniel and the narrator, too, joined
in. When the snow was spread with soil, Tsetan backed up the vehicle and drove
towards the dirty snow. The car moved across the icy surface without noticeable
difficulty.
Question 6.
When did the narrator feel unwell or the first time? What did he do?
Answer:
When they went further up the trail
and were 5,400 metres above the sea level, the narrator got an awful headache.
He took gulps from his water bottle, which is supposed to help during a speedy
uphill journey. His headache soon cleared as they went down the other side of
the pass.
Question 7.
What was the sight on the plateau ruins of the Tethys Ocean?
Answer:
The narrator and his friends stopped
for lunch in a long canvas tent, part of a work camp erected beside a dry salt
lake. The plateau was covered with salty desert area and salty lakes that were
remnants of the Tethys Ocean. This place was bustling with activity. Men with
pickaxes and shovels were moving back and forth in their long sheepskin coats
and salt-covered boots. All wore sunglasses as protection against the dazzling
light of blue trucks that energed from the lake with piles of salt.
Question 8.
Why was the narrator sorry to see the miserable plight of Hor?
Answer:
Hor was a dismal place with no
vegetation. It only had dust and rocks coupled with years of accumulated
refuse. He found this unfortunate because this town was on the banks of Lake
Manasarovar, Tibet’s most venerated stretch of water.
Question 9.
What is the belief about Lake Manasarovar? What is the fact?
Answer:
According to ancient Hindu and
Buddhist cosmology Manasarovar is the source of four great Indian rivers: the
Indus, the Ganges, the Sutlej and the Brahmaputra. In actuality only the Sutlej
flows from the lake, but the headwaters of the all others rise nearby on the
flanks of Mount Kailash.
Question 10.
The narrator ‘slept very soundly. Like a log, not a dead man’. Explain.
Answer:
After going to the Tibetan doctor the
narrator soon recovered. Unpalatable as it seemed, the medicine led him to a
quick recovery. Hence the narrator had a healthy and sound sleep unlike when he
was ailing and restless. He slept undisturbed. He was not tossing and turning
because he was sound a sleep, not because he felt lifeless.
Question 11.
‘Darchen didn’t look so horrible after a good night’s sleep.’ Justify
Answer:
The narrator had a very uncomfortable
night at Darchen. After he rested, although Darchen was dusty, with heaps of
rubble and refuse, the bright sun in a clear blue sky gave the narrator a view
of the Himalayas. He also noticed the huge, snow-capped mountain, Gurla
Mandhata, with just a tuft of cloud suspended over its peak.
Question 12.
‘I hadn’t made much progress with my self-help programme on positive thinking.’ Why does the narrator feel so?
Answer:
The narrator was very disappointed
with Darchen. It was dusty, with heaps of rubble and refuse. But he was even
more disappointed as there were no pilgrims. As his mind went over the
drawbacks of the place he concluded that he hadn’t made much progress with his
self-help programme on positive thinking. In that case he would have been more
accepting and optimistic.
Question 13.
Who was Norbu? How could he be a help to the narrator?
Answer:
The narrator met Norbu in a cafe. He
was Tibetan, and worked in Beijing at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences,
in the Institute of Ethnic Literature. He had come to do the kora. Norbu had
been writing academic papers about the Kailash kora and its importance in
various works of Buddhist literature for many years but .he had never actually
done it himself. The narrator was relieved to team up with him. He would not be
alone then.
Question 14.
‘He suggested we hire some yaks to carry our luggage, which I interpreted as a good sign’. Why does the narrator feel so?
Answer:
The narrator was relieved at meeting
Norbu. He kept telling the narrator how fat he was and how hard it was going to
be for him to climb. He wasn’t really a practising Buddhist, but he was
enthusiastic and was a Tibetan. Making the trek in the company of devout
believers would not be easy as they would go prostrating all round the
mountain. But Norbu suggested that they hire some yaks to carry our luggage.
This to the narrator came as a relief.
Silk Road Extra Questions and Answers Long Answer Type
Question 1.
The narrator on his way to Mount Kailash came across a lot of topographic variation. Comment.
Answer:
The narrator and his companions took
a short cut to get off the Changtang. Tsetan knew a route that would take them
southwest, almost directly towards Mount Kailash. It involved crossing several
fairly high mountain passes. From the gently rising and failing hills of Ravu,
the short cut took them across vast open plains with nothing in them except a
few gazelles that were grazing in the arid pastures. Further ahead,
the plains became more stony than
grassy, and there a great herd of wild ass came into view.
Still ahead hills became steeper
wh^re solitary drokbas were tending their flocks. This led them to the
snow-capped mountains and then to the valley where the river was wide and by
and large clogged with ice. At a height of 5,515 metres, piles of stones marked
the landscape. Next was the plateau which was covered with salty desert area
and salty lakes that were remnants of the Tethys Ocean. Hor was next in line.
It was a wretched place with no vegetation just dust and rocks, liberally
scattered with years of accumulated refuse.
Question 2.
The narrator realized that the snow was both dangerous as well as beautiful. Justify.
Answer:
Tsetan on his way surveyed the snow
on the path by stamping on it. It was not deep. But in case they slipped the
car could turn over. Hence to cover the risk, they flung handfuls of dirt
across the frozen surface. When the snow was spread with soil, they drove
without difficulty. Ten minutes later, they stopped at another blockage. This
time they decided to drive round the snow.
However, the risks did not undermine
the scenic beauty of the place. In the valley, they saw snow-capped mountains
and the river was wide but mostly blocked with ice that was sparkling in the
sunshine. As they moved ahead, on their upward track, the turns became sharper
and the ride bumpier. The rocks around were covered with patches of bright
orange lichen. Under the rocks, seemed unending shade.
Question 3.
Enumerate the difficulties that the group faced in Hor.
Answer:
The group reached the small town of
Hor by late afternoon. Daniel, who was returning to Lhasa, found a ride in a
truck and left. They had suffered two punctures in quick succession on the
drive down from the salt lake and they got them replaced. Hor was a gloomy
place devoid of vegetation. It only had dust and rocks, liberally scattered
with years of accumulated refuse.
Hor’s only cafe which, like all the
other buildings in town, was constructed from badly painted concrete and had
three broken windows. The good view of the lake through one of them helped to
compensate for the draught. The narrator was served by a Chinese youth in
military uniform who spread the grease around on his table with a filthy rag
before bringing him a glass and a thermos of tea.
Question 4.
Describe in detail the narrator’s miserable night in Darchen.
Answer:
The narrator reached the Darchen
guesthouse after 10.30 p.m. This was just the beginning of a troubled night.
The open-air rubbish dump in Hor had set off his cold once more. One of his
nostrils was blocked again and he was tired and hungry. He started breathing
through his mouth. After a while, he woke up abruptly. His chest felt strangely
heavy but when he sat up, his nasal passages cleared almost instantly and
relieved the feeling in his chest. He lay down again. Just as he was about to
doze something told him not to.
He was not gasping for breath, but
could not go to sleep. He sat up but as soon as he lay down, his sinuses filled
and his chest felt strange. He tried supporting himself against the wall, but could
not manage to relax enough to sleep. He did not know what was wrong but had a
feeling that if he slept he would not wake up again. So he stayed awake all
night.
Question 5.
Narrate the narrator’s meeting with the Tibetan doctor.
Answer:
After an awfully uncomfortable and
breathless night, Tsetan took the narrator to the Darchen Medical College. The
college was new and looked like a monastery from the outside with a very solid
door that led into a large courtyard. The consulting room was dark and cold and
occupied by a Tibetan doctor who did not have any kit that the narrator had
been expecting.
He wore a thick pullover and a woolly
hat. The narrator explained the symptoms and the doctor shot him a few
questions while feeling the veins in his wrist. Finally he said, it was the
cold and the effects of altitude. He said that the narrator would be well
enough to do the kora. He gave him a brown envelope stuffed with fifteen screws
of paper. Each package had a brown powder that had to taken with hot water. It
tasted just like cinnamon. The contents of the lunchtime and bedtime packages
were less obviously identifiable. Both contained small, spherical brown
pellets. Though the medicine looked like sheep dung, it helped him recover
quickly.
Question 6.
Meeting Norbu came as an immense relief to the narrator. Why?
Answer:
The narrator was not only
disappointed with the filth in Darchen but also because of the lack of
pilgrims. Moreover, since Tsetan had left, he had not come across anyone in
Darchen with enough English to answer even this most basic question. It was
then that he met Norbu in a cafe. He was Tibetan, he told him, but worked in
Beijing at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, in the Institute of Ethnic
Literature.
He had also come to do the kora.
Norbu had been writing academic papers about the Kailash kora and its
importance in various works of Buddhist literature for many years, but he had
never actually done it himself. He was relieved to form a team with another
academician. This apart, Norbu, wasn’t really a practising Buddhist, though he
was a Tibetan. He suggested that they hire some yaks to carry their luggage, as
he had no intention of prostrating himself all round the mountain.