Silk Road

Short Answer Type Questions

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.

Long Answer Type Questions

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.