What went wrong when the king rode under the arch?

It was too low and knocked off his crown

How does the chain of blame unfold in the poem?

Each accused person blames another, ending with the king's own changes

Who wrote "Silk Road" and what kind of writing is it?

Nick Middleton; it is a travelogue of a journey across the Tibetan plateau to Mount Kailash.

What was the purpose of the author's journey to Mount Kailash?

To complete the kora, the sacred pilgrimage circuit around the mountain.

Why is the article titled "Silk Road"?

The route follows old trade paths along which goods like Tibetan mastiffs once travelled to China, recalling the historic Silk Road.

Why were Tibetan mastiffs popular in China's imperial courts?

They were fierce, fearless guard dogs, brought along the Silk Road as tribute and used as hunting dogs.

How did Tsetan handle the dangerous patches of snow on the high passes?

He flung dirt over the icy surface for grip, and sometimes drove carefully around the snow over rocky slopes.

Why was the author's experience at Hor in stark contrast to earlier accounts?

Hor was a grim, rubbish-strewn place, unlike the rapturous descriptions earlier travellers gave of Lake Manasarovar.

What was the author's physical condition at Darchen?

He suffered sleeplessness and breathing difficulty from his cold and the altitude, and feared he might not wake if he slept.

How was the author cured at Darchen?

The Tibetan doctor diagnosed a cold and altitude effects and gave him a five-day course of herbal medicine that let him sleep soundly.

Why was the author disappointed at Darchen?

There were no pilgrims, as he had arrived too early in the pilgrimage season, and he did not want to do the kora alone.

Why did meeting Norbu make the author think his positive thinking had worked?

Norbu, a fellow academic, had also come to do the kora and agreed to team up, ending the author's isolation.

Silk Road

Class 11 English · Hornbill · Chapter 6

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CBSE Class 11 · English Core

All 10 Hornbill texts: 5 prose, 5 poems

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The story in short

Nick Middleton's travelogue records his arduous journey across the Tibetan plateau towards Mount Kailash to complete the kora (a sacred circuit). Leaving Ravu with a farewell sheepskin coat from Lhamo, he travels with his guide Tsetan and friend Daniel, taking a short cut south-west across vast open plains where they see gazelles, herds of wild ass (kyang), nomadic drokbas and fierce Tibetan mastiffs once prized in China's imperial courts. The route climbs high mountain passes, and Tsetan skilfully negotiates dangerous patches of snow and ice, while the narrator suffers from altitude sickness as they cross a pass at 5,515 metres. They pause at a salt-encrusted lake, then reach the grim, rubbish-strewn town of Hor on Lake Manasarovar — a sharp contrast to the rapturous accounts of earlier travellers. After Daniel and then Tsetan depart, the narrator settles at Darchen, where sleeplessness and breathing trouble force a visit to the Tibetan doctor, whose herbal medicine restores him. Finding no pilgrims because he has arrived too early in the season, and reluctant to do the kora alone, he is relieved to meet Norbu, a friendly, ill-equipped Tibetan academic from Beijing who has also come to do the kora. The two decide to team up, and the narrator's positive-thinking strategy seems, after all, to have worked. The piece vividly captures landscape, hardship, hill-folk and the spirit of pilgrimage.

Silk Road

Characters & key ideas

Korathe sacred circular pilgrimage around Mount Kailash that the narrator hopes to complete.

Drokbaa Tibetan nomadic herdsman tending flocks on the plateau.

Kyangthe wild ass seen galloping in herds across the open plains.

Tibetan mastiffthe fierce guard dog once prized as a hunting dog in China's imperial courts.

Altitude sicknessthe breathlessness and headaches the narrator suffers at high elevations.

Lake ManasarovarTibet's most venerated lake, near the grim town of Hor.

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Who wrote the travelogue "Silk Road"?

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Silk Road

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