Hornbill, Lesson - 8, Silk Road - Nick Middleton. Glossary, Summary, Questions, And Answers. Glossary - 1. loves - bread. 2. kora - a rit...
Hornbill, Lesson - 8,
Silk Road - Nick Middleton.
Glossary, Summary, Questions, And Answers.
Glossary -
1. loves - bread.
2. kora - a ritual performed by devotees to make a complete circle around a sacred place,(Parikrama).
3. flawless - spotless.
4. ducking back - to go back.
5. clambered - to get in.
6. gazelles - a type of deer.
7. nibbling - grazing.
8. arid - dry.
9. frown - to show anger.
10. void - an empty space.
11. en masse - gathered in a mass or together in a group.
12. maneuvers - a movement or series of moves.
13. billowed - to fill with air.
14. drokbas - nomads and shepherds around the Tibet region.
15. evasive - trying to avoid something, ignore.
16. veering - to change direction suddenly.
17. mastiff - a type hunting breed of a dog found in a Tibetian region.
18. shaggy - covered with long hair, ugly in appearance.
19. swerve - to move.
20. glinting - to shine.
21. meanders - having curves.
22. hunks of snow - large pieces of snow.
23. swathe - a large strip or an area.
24. abrupt - sudden.
25. encrusted - covered.
26. slither and slide - to move.
27. lurching - make unsteady movements.
28. cairn of rocks - a heap of stones.
29. scarves - flag.
30. careered down - to move quickly.
31. salt flats - areas of flat land covered with a layer of salt.
32. pickaxes - digging tool.
33. grim - unpleasant.
34. cosmology - origin, and development of the universe.
35. flanks - side of something.
36. starks - pure.
39. sanctity - holiness.
40. dump - to get rid of something that you do not want.
41. nocturnal - active at night.
42. land of nod - imaginary land of sleep.
43. propping - support.
44. monastery - the place of the monk.
45. paraphernalia - a group of objects.
46. pellets - small round objects.
42. derelict - damned, no longer used, and in bad condition.
43. wisp of cloud - a small thin line of cloud.
44. rudimentary - very basic or simple.
45. battered - damaged or out of shape.
46. incongruous - strange and out of place.
47. babbled - talk rapidly in a foolish way.
48. pondering - to think about something.
49. cavernous - huge, spacious.
50. voluminous - ample, comprehensive.
51. rickety - likely to break, not strongly made.
52. transpired - to become known.
UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT :
1. Give reasons for the following statements.
1. The article has been titled, "Silk Road"
Ans - The silk road is a network of routes that were used to travel from Europe to Asia and vice-versa. In addition to traveling this road were means of trade and commerce, through this network silk was traded from China to Europe along with other things like spices, teas, horses, and exotic plants and animals and the author of the lesson describes his journey through silk road to mount Kailash to explore the routes used by ancient people like Alexander and Macro, this is the reason that the lesson is titled as the silk road.
2. Tibetan mastiffs were popular in china's imperial courts.
Ans - Mastiffs were an excellent breed of dogs known for their aggressive behavior and hunting abilities. They were tall, robust, fearless strong black colored monsters having massive jaws and they had an extraordinary ability to fix and focus the target and run behind it with bullet speed and could chase for hundred meters, therefore mastiffs became popular in China's imperial courts as hunting dogs, brought along the silk road in ancient times as tribute from Tibet.
3. The author's experience at Hor starkly contrasted with earlier accounts of the place.
Ans - Hor was a grim miserable place, it had little vegetation and was occupied by dust and rocks, and seemed to be an unfortunate and dejected place, but it was situated on the bank of pure and holy lake Manasarovar, and purity of the lake was able to compensate dejection of the place. Earlier, a Japanese monk, Ekai Kawaguchi, and a Swede, Sven Hedin outbursted in tears at the sanctity of the lake. The only relaxation was the tea served by the Chinese youth in the only cafe in the town.
4. The author was disappointed with Darchen.
Ans - The place, Darchen was situated at a high altitude and the place was dusty, partially derelict, and punctuated by heaps of rubble and refuse, and as the author was suffering from sinus, he had to face breathing problems due to lack of oxygen at the higher altitudes, so he suffered from severe cold and improper breathing, he was not able to sleep quietly at night, so he took medicine from Darchen Medical college, and also he felt lonely at the place because there were no pilgrims around therefore the author was disappointed with Darchen.
5. The author thought that his positive thinking strategy worked well after all.
Ans- At Darchen, the author faced several problems like he suffered bad health, his earlier companion Tsetan had already left for Lhasa, and as there were no pilgrims around, he felt lonely and disappointed at the place. Still, when he met Norbu, a Tibetan who also wanted to visit Mount Kailash, he felt revealed and satisfied by thinking that his company would make his journey comfortably, this positive thinking brought him new spirit and energy.
2. Briefly comment on
1. The purpose of the author's journey to Mount Kailash.
Ans - Nick Middleton is an Oxford Professor as well as an adventurer. He follows the most challenging terrain through the Silk Road and reaches Mount Kailash. He visited the only place to complete the kora going around the place.
2. The author's physical condition in Darchen.
Ans - The author's physical health was not good when he reached Darchen because of the high altitude of the place, he felt a lack of oxygen and his sinuses were blocked due to the cold wind and he was not able to sleep at night, then Tsetan took him to Darchen Medical College, and the doctor gave him some medicine that provided him some relief.
3. The author's meeting with Norbu.
Ans - At Darchen, the author was feeling rather lonely, because his companion Tsetsn already left for Lhasa, and he was suffering from his sinuses trouble too, and there were no pilgrims around as he visited the place too early, till he met Norbu. He was a Tibetan and intended to visit Mount Kailash like the author, and Norbu's company gave him some relief and satisfaction, and they both decided to go together.
4. Tsetan's support to the author during the journey.
Ans - Tsetan was found to be an excellent companion for the author because of many reasons, such as he was very familiar with the geography of the place, he could predict things very well before going to the place, he was an excellent driver, and knew very well, how to drive on the snowy curvey roads, and at Darchen when the author was suffering from Sinuses, he took the author to the Darchan Medical college and provided him the required medicine. Tsetan was a real Buddhist and without his company and guidance, it would be very difficult for the author to complete his Kora, that is visit to Mount Kailash.
5. " As a Buddhist, he told me, he knew that it didn't matter if I passed away, but he thought it would be bad for business."
Ans - Tsetan was a true Buddhist and strongly believed in the principles of Buddhism, he believed that if by chance, the author dies at Mount Kailash then being a holy and spiritual place, it would carry the author to heaven which is a mark of a salutation, but at the same time, he told the author that, if it happens, then it would be very bad for his business because in that case, other pilgrims would not believe me because, during the Kora, it was his responsibility to take care of his customers, therefore he told so to the author.
Talking about the Text -
Discuss in groups of four.
1. The sensitive behaviour of hill folks.
Ans - The hill folks are those sensitive people who live around natural places like lakes, rivers, hills, and forests, they do not live in a civilized and urbanized area like us, so they have natural innocence, belief, rituals, and tradition. Their needs are limited and they are satisfied with what they have. They consider outsiders and visitors as a God and treat them like a God. Tsetan was one of them and cared for the author like his family member.
2. The reasons why people willingly undergo the travails of different journeys.
Ans - There are many reasons why people undergo such difficult and challenging journeys. The first category of people are nature lovers, they always want to explore new horizons of nature, and by spending time in nature, they feel stress-free, recharged, and energetic, and it is very true, nature always inspires us, and gives a new hope and spirit.
The second category is adventurers, these people normally choose sites that are challenging like Mount Everest, Journey of the desert, or Any dense and wild forest where life is dangerous and becomes very difficult to survive. On such journeys, they want to find their potential, and sometimes it is done for any competition, set a record or break a record, or a self-satisfaction. These journeys teach how one can survive with the minimum available resources and use health up to an extreme extent.
Here, I would like to mention famous survivalist Bear Grylls and his popular program," Running wild with Bear Grylls" where he takes popular stars on a rigorous journey in which they are faced with inhospitable conditions and impossible tasks, but with his courage, different logical techniques, good knowledge of nature with very limited resources they complete the task with all their capabilities. His program not only inspires us but gives a new dimension to life, if we adopt those techniques in our civilized life, our life would be more happier and satisfactory, because this program is basically about the optimistic use of everything we have, otherwise we don't care about what we have.
The third category is about the religious and spiritual people who go on a pilgrimage such as Amarnath Yatra, Manasarovar Yatra, or Narmada Parikrama because according to Hindu Mythology, one could get salutation after completion of the journey and these pilgrimages are very tough journies and they have to face many challenges like lack of oxygen, transportation means, food, medical aids, challenging roads in the hilly areas, very odd weather but with the belief in God, and a strong desire to witness the glimpse of the God, they complete the such pilgrimage, here in this lesson Silk Road, the author also wanted to complete the KORA, to the Mount Kailash.
Maybe, there are different mottos behind such difficult journeys, but the man always wants to explore, interact, and learn from nature and find out the extreme capability, and limitations of a human being because every tough journey teaches us something new that we had not experienced.
3. The accounts of exotic places in legends and reality.
Ans - There are many accounts of exotic places like Mount Kailash, Mansarovar, and Amarnath occupying a prominent place in legends, and according to them, Lord Shiva resides in Mount Kailash along with his family, devotees believe that if they visit Mount Kailash, they would get the blessing of Lord Shiva, Mansarovar is believed to be a divine lake, and holy dip in the lake has the power to eliminate all the sins of the man. Amarnath is also a sacred place of Lord Shiva and a snowy Shiv-Linga naturally forms at Amarnath, and every year millions of devotees visit Amarnath to witness snowy Shiv-Linga and seek the blessing of Lord Shiva.
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