summary of silk road

The author was going to Mount Kailash to complete the Kora. According to Hindu and

Buddhist tradition the Kora around Mount Kailash was one of the most religious rituals. The

author Nick Middleton started from Ravu early one morning. On this occasion a woman

named Lhamo gave him a farewell present. It was a long sleeved sheep skin coat.

Nick Middleton started on his journey in a car which was being driven by Tsetan. There

was one more person named Daniel with him. Tsetan took a short cut to take the author

almost directly towards Kailash. This short cut took them across vast open plains with

nothing except a few gazelles in them. Stony plains followed these arid pastures. There the

author saw herd of wild asses which Tsetan called Kyang.

After these rocky plains, the hills were visible. Here the author saw solitary Drokbas

tending their flocks. Then, there were dark tents of nomads. Almost, all of these tents were

guarded by Tibetan Mastiffs. It is shaggy and very black. On seeing a stranger, it barks

furiously. They are very fearless. They became popular in China’s imperial courts as hunting

dogs, brought along the Silk Road in ancient times as tribute from Tibet.

The snow-capped mountains now came into view. There they entered a valley where

the river was wide and mostly covered with ice. The turns became sharper and the ride

became very bumpier. At one point, the car had to stop. There was ice on the track for about

15 metres. Tsetan threw some dust on the ice and then the car moved on. This happened at

the height of 5210 metres.

all d best for ur sem ashu.............

Silk Road is an extract from a travelogue written by Nick Middleton. The author describes his
pilgrimage to Mount Kailash. As the narrator starts from Ravu towards Kailash to perform
Kora, he describes all the things he sees-landscape, people and animals. He wants to be more
adventurous than to be religious. The Silk Road was the main trade route between Kashmir
to China. Silk was one of the main commodities that were traded in those areas. So, it was
rightly named as ‘Silk Road’.
It was early morning when the author left Ravu with his companions Daniel and Tsetan.
Tsetan, the driver of his vehicle, knew the short cut route to Mount Kailash. They moved
across the vast open grassy plains to the stony plains. Sometimes they saw a few gazelles
and wild asses.
The way through the hills started. On the way they met solitary drokbas tending their flocks
and also the dark tents of the nomads. Giant Tibetan mastiffs would chase the author’s car
for a hundred metres or so.
They could see snow capped mountains far away. The ride became bumpier because of the
sharp bends near the valley. After a while Tsetan had to stop the car because of snow. They
flung dust on the snow capped route to ease the car. There was another blockage after
about ten minutes. But somehow Tsetan negotiated it. At the height of 5515 metres they
took a turn round the cairn of rocks.
By late afternoon they had reached the small town of Hor from where Daniel left to Lhasa.
Hor seemed a grim place even though it was on the shore of Lake Manasarovar, the most
venerated stretch of water. The author was eager to forge ahead towards Mount Kailash.
They reached Darchen at night. The author had to pass a troublesome night in Darchen.
In the morning Tsetan took him to Darchen Medical College. The Tibetan doctor gave him
some medicine and assured him that he would be able to do the Kora. Tsetan went back
leaving the author alone after his recovery. Author was worried because there were no
pilgrims at Darchen. He couldn’t find any person who speaks enough English to answer his
questions.
He met Norbu in Darchen’s only café. Norbu after introducing himself told the author that
he had come to do the Kora. The author was happy to find his company. He decided that
Norbu would turn out to be the ideal companion.
 

Describe the places, the narratorcome across during his kora?

NICE..