Silk road Flashcards
Tsetan:
He is the owner of the car hired by the author for the journey as well as a tourist guide.
Daniel:
He is an interpreter from Lhasa who travelled part of the time with the author.
Norbu:
He is a Tibetan working at an academy in Beijing who wants to to complete his ‘kora’
(pilgrimage) at Mount Kailash
Theme:
This chapter is part of a travelogue about the author’s travel along the ancient trade
route called ‘Silk Road’. This acount of the Silk Road, with its contrasts and exotic details,
describes the challenges and hardships the author faced while undertaking his journey to Mount
Kailash on a pilgrimage.
What was the purpose of the journey to Mount Kailash?
: Nick Middleton was an Oxford professor as well an adventurer. He follows the most
difficult terrain through the Silk Road and reaches Mount Kailash. He visits the holy place
and completes the Kora- going around the place.
Write about the author’s physical condition in Darchen
The author was not physically well when he reached Darchen. His sinuses were blocked
due to the cold wind at Hor and he was not able to sleep well at night. The next day Tsetan
took him to the Darchen Medical College and the doctor there gave him some medicine that
gave him some relief.
Describe the author’s meeting with Norbu.
The author was feeling rather lonely without Tsetan who had left for Lhasa. There
weren’t any pilgrims at Darchen as he had reached the place much early in the season. It was
then that he met Norbu who was a Tibetan and also an academician. He too was there to visit
Mt. Kailash and they decided to go there together
Comment on Tsetan’s support to the author during the journey.
: Tsetan was a good and efficient driver. He drove the car very carefully. During the
journey, he spoke to the author giving information about the places they were visiting. He
was very caring. At Darchen when he found that the author was not well, he took him to the
medical college and got medicine for him. He was a good Buddhist.
Comment on the following: “As a Buddhist, he told me, he knew that it didn’t really
matter if I passed away, but he thought it would be bad for business”
Tsetan was a good Buddhist and believed that death was not the end of life. Kailash
being a holy place it would be better for him as it would take him to heaven. Then if the
author would die there, it would be bad for his business as his credibility would be at stake in
looking after the tourists and later, he may not get any customers.
Why does the narrator think that the snow was dangerous yet beautiful?
: Silk Road by Nick Middleton is a thorough account of the author’s visit to Mount Kailash.
Tsetan on his way reviewed snow on the path by stomping on it. The snow was not deep enough
but they feared the car would turn over in case they slipped and so they flung a handful of dirt
across the frozen surface to cover this risk. After that, they were able to drive without any
trouble. A few minutes later, they stopped at one more obstruction. This time they determined to
drive about the snow. However, the risks did not weaken the attractive beauty of the place. In the
valley, they saw mountains that were covered with snow and the river was wide but mostly
jammed with ice, and sparkling in the sunshine.
Justify the title ‘Silk Road’.
- The ‘Silk Road’ is not a single highway, but a network of overland routes linking Europe
with Asia, making trade possible between those with a passion for silk, horses and exotic fauna
and flora. - The author records the challenges and hardships he faced in the Silk Road regions as they are
now. The reader finds it refreshing to traverse such vast tracts of the natural world that remain
largely unchanged from earlier days.
Why was the narrator fascinated by the awesome mastiffs?
Crossing the nomads dark tents pitched in remoteness, the narrator noticed tha ta huge
black dog, a Tibetan mastiff that 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. The 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 now
understand why tibetan mastiffs became poloular in China’s imperial courts as hunting dogs.
.’I hadn’t made much progress with my self-help programme on positive thinking.’ Why does
the narrator feel so?
The narrator was very dissapointed with Darchen. It was dusty, with heaps of rubble and
refuse. But he was even more dissapointed as there was no pilgrims. As his mind went over the
drawbacks of the place he concluded that the hadn’t made much progress with his self-help
programme on positive thinking. In that case he would have been more accepting and optimistic.
The narrator on his way to Mount Kailash came across a lot of topograpic variation.
Comment
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 falling 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, the hills became steeper where solitary
drokbas were tending their flocks. This left 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 5,515metres,
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
