NCERT Solutions - Silk Road

Q: Notice these expressions in the text.
Infer their meaning from the context.
Ducking back
Swathe
Careered down
Manoeuvres
Cairn of rocks
Salt flats
Billowed

Ans: Ducking back: Moving quickly back into shelter or indoors to avoid wind, cold or danger.
Swathe: A long strip or area; here it means a wide stretch of land covered with snow.
Careered down: Went down the slope very quickly, often in an uncontrolled or hurried way.
Manoeuvres: Planned movements or operations, often military exercises involving soldiers, vehicles or ships.
Cairn of rocks: A deliberately piled heap of stones used as a marker, for example to mark a summit or a burial place.
Salt flats: Broad, flat areas left by dried-up lakes or ponds where a crust of salt covers the surface.
Billowed: Rose or swelled out in waves, as when wind fills a sail or when clouds or smoke roll out.

Understanding the Text

I. Give reasons for the following statements.
(i) The article has been titled 'Silk Road.'
Ans: The title alludes to the historic Silk Road, the network of trade routes that linked China with India, Central Asia and beyond. These routes carried goods such as Chinese silk, spices, tea and porcelain, and they shaped cultural and religious contacts across the region. The author's travel through Tibet and to Mount Kailash follows parts of these old routes and their landscapes, which explains the choice of the title.

(ii) Tibetan mastiffs were popular in China's imperial courts.
Ans: Tibetan mastiffs were prized as hunting and guard dogs and were brought to the imperial courts as valuable gifts or tributes. Their large size, courage and alertness made them useful for hunting and for guarding palaces, so they became fashionable and respected in court circles.

(iii) The author's experience at Hor was in stark contrast to earlier accounts of the place.
Ans: Earlier travellers had described Hor and Lake Manasarovar in reverent, almost sublime terms, pointing to its sanctity and beauty. The author, however, found Hor dusty, neglected and outwardly ordinary, with punctured tyres and a shabby café. This contrast between the expected sacred splendour and the prosaic, sometimes dirty reality explains why his experience differed sharply from older accounts.

(iv) The author was disappointed with Darchen.
Ans: The author felt disappointed because he arrived unwell and before the pilgrimage season, so the town was nearly empty of pilgrims. Darchen appeared dusty and partly derelict, with rubble and refuse about, and the author's illness and poor sleep increased his sense of dissatisfaction.

(v) The author thought that his positive thinking strategy worked well after all.
Ans: Although initially disheartened, the author's decision to remain positive paid off when he met Norbu, a fellow academic and companion for the journey. Their company, shared purpose and mutual encouragement improved his mood and renewed his enthusiasm for the pilgrimage.

II. Briefly comment on

(i) The purpose of the author's journey to Mount Kailash.
Ans: Nick Middleton travelled to Mount Kailash to undertake the kora, the ritual circumambulation of the sacred mountain. His journey mixed scholarly curiosity, a wish to experience the region's religious practices, and the spirit of exploration along routes once part of the Silk Road.

(ii) The author's physical condition in Darchen.
Ans: On arrival at Darchen the author was ill with blocked sinuses and difficulty sleeping, problems made worse by the cold winds and high altitude. He sought medical attention and received medication that brought some relief.

(iii) The author's meeting with Norbu.
Ans: The author met Norbu, a Tibetan academic who was also preparing to visit Kailash. They became travelling companions, which eased the author's loneliness and helped both of them face the pilgrimage together.

(iv) Tsetan's support to the author during the journey.
Ans: Tsetan acted as an attentive and capable guide and driver. He navigated difficult roads carefully, explained local details to the author, and when the author fell ill he arranged for medical help. His concern showed both professional care and personal compassion.

(v) "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."
Ans: Tsetan's remark reflects a Buddhist attitude that death is not the ultimate loss, yet he also recognised a practical reality: if a tourist died while under his care, it would damage his reputation and harm his livelihood. Thus spiritual detachment and worldly concern are held together in his comment.

Talking about Text

Discuss in groups of four
(i) The sensitive behaviour of hill-folk.
Ans: Hill people such as Tsetan tend to be devout, respectful and hospitable. They are often simple in manner but careful with guests, offering help and guidance and showing deep religious feeling. Their behaviour combines practical kindness with spiritual awareness.

(ii) The reasons why people willingly undergo the travails of difficult journeys.
Ans: People undertake hard journeys for several reasons: religious devotion (pilgrimage), the spirit of adventure and discovery, and scholarly or personal curiosity. For the author, the trip combined academic interest with a desire to experience the region and its rituals in person.

(iii) The accounts of exotic places in legends and the reality.
Ans: Legends often present exotic places as pristine and sacred, heightening their wonder. In reality such places can be ordinary, difficult to reach and affected by modern pressures. The tension between mythic expectation and everyday reality is a recurring theme in travel writing.

Thinking about Language

Q1: Notice the kind of English Tsetan uses while talking to the author. How do you think he picked it up?
Ans: Tsetan appears largely unlettered, but as a driver who regularly carries foreign visitors he has picked up useful English phrases from his customers. His English is phrase-based and practical, enough to communicate basic ideas and to act as an interpreter between Tibetan speakers and English-speaking travellers.

Q2: What do the following utterances indicate?
(i) "I told her, through Daniel ..."
(ii) "It's a cold," he said finally through Tsetan.

Ans: (i) The speaker's words were rendered into the local language by Daniel; the woman could not follow English so the message reached her only through interpretation.
(ii) The doctor spoke in Tibetan and Tsetan translated the diagnosis into English for the author.

Q3: Guess the meaning of the following words :

• Kora: A ritual pilgrimage that involves circumambulating Mount Kailash.
• Drokba: A shepherd who tends sheep in the Darchen area.
• Kyang: The wild ass found in the region.

These words are from the Tibetan language.

Working with Words

Q1: The narrative has many phrases to describe the scenic beauty of the mountainside like:
A flawless half-moon floated in a perfect blue sky.
Scan the text to locate other such picturesque phrases.
Ans: A few picturesque extracts from the account are:
"Extended banks of cloud like long French loaves glowed pink as the sun emerged to splash the distant mountain tops with a rose-tinted blush."
"We entered a valley where the river was wide and mostly clogged with ice, brilliant white and glinting in the sunshine. The trail hugged its bank, twisting with the meanders as we gradually gained height and the valley sides closed in."

Q2: Explain the use of the adjectives in the following phrases.
(i) shaggy monsters
(ii) brackish lakes
(iii) rickety table
(iv) hairpin bend
(v) rudimentary general stores
Ans: (i) Shaggy monsters: Suggests creatures that are very hairy and unkempt, giving a wild, fearsome appearance.
(ii) Brackish lakes: Lakes with water that is somewhat salty and unpleasant to drink.
(iii) Rickety table: A table that is unstable or likely to wobble because it is poorly built or worn.
(iv) Hairpin bend: A very sharp, almost U-shaped turn in a road that requires careful steering.
(v) Rudimentary general stores: Basic shops with only simple, essential items and few comforts.

Noticing Form

Q1: The account has only a few passive voice sentences. Locate them. In what way does the use of active voice contribute to the style of the narrative.
Ans: Examples of passive constructions in the account include:
1. "My initial relief... was tempered by the realisation that..."
2. "I wasn't encouraged by the chunks of dirty ice that still clung to the banks..." (negative passive construction)
3. "I'd been told that..."
4. "I was served by a Chinese youth in military uniform..."
5. "Tsetan was eager to have them fixed." (causative passive construction)
6. "...had been replaced by one that was as smooth as my bald head."
Active voice dominates the narrative and makes it direct, lively and easy to follow; it keeps the focus on the author's actions and impressions. Passive voice is used sparingly when the writer wants to stress the action or result rather than who performed it.

Q2: Notice this construction: Tsetan was eager to have them, fixed. Write five sentences with a similar structure.
Ans: I am willing to have my luggage carried to the guest house by someone else.
Mohan was not interested in having his section changed on the roster.
Sushma is eager to have her name removed from the list of volunteers.
They wished to have their tents repaired before the storm arrived.
The committee is said to have had the notice posted outside the office.