Hill-folk shown in the text are shown to be very cordial and empathetic towards the narrator. The driver Tsetan shows perseverance to ensure the narrator’s safety, while he struggles with breathing and a persisting cold in the freezing high altitude. The Tibetan doctor’s unusual local medicine help the author with his recovery, while Norbu is willing to team up on their pilgrimage after a brief meeting with the narrator. All these characters show a sense of concern and desire to help visitors adapt to an unfamiliar environment.

Question - 12 : -
The reasons why people willingly undergo the travails of difficult journeys.

Answer - 12 : -

In this text, the narrator undertakes this difficult journey because he wishes to complete the Kailash kora, a difficult pilgrimage through several rocky mountain passes to the high altitude Mount Kailash. Both Darchen and he are academics, who decide to travel together for scholarly purposes. However, many other pilgrims undertake this difficult journey for spiritual growth. Other reasons that people may undergo such difficult journeys include a desire for such adventures or as tourists a genuine interest in visiting such historic sites.

Question - 13 : -
The accounts of exotic places in legends and the reality.

Answer - 13 : -

The narrator describes his experiences in the small Tibetan town Hor as very different from the accounts of earlier travellers that he has read. Accounts by a Japanese monk and a Swede visitor describe how they were both sentimentally overwhelmed by the sanctity of the lake. However the narrator describes Hor as a miserable place full of rocks and years of accumulated garbage. This indicates that portrayals in exotic accounts may starkly differ from personal experiences of places.

Question - 14 : -
Notice the kind of English Tsetan uses while talking to the author. How do you think he picked it up?

Answer - 14 : -

We notice the influence of Tsetan’s mother tongue Tibetan on his use of the English language. Phrases like “Not knowing, Sir” when queried about snowfall and “but no smoking” referring to the car’s petrol tank, indicate that he is relatively comfortable communicating in English and he prefers to use short sentences while speaking the language. As a driver who regularly takes foreign visitors all over Tibet, Tsetan may have learned English through his interactions , with these visitors.

Question - 15 : -
What do the following utterances indicate?
i) “I told her, through Daniel…”
(ii) “It’s a cold, ” he said finally through Tsetan.

Answer - 15 : -

(i) This utterance indicate that since the narrator doesn’t speak Tibetan, Daniel translates his sentences from English to Tibetan so he can communicate with Lhamo, to tell her that he plans to complete the kora pilgrimage.

(ii) The doctor, who speaks Tibetan, gets Tsetan to translate his words into English, to inform the narrator that he has a cold and will be giving him medicine to cure this.

Question - 16 : -
Guess the meaning of the following words,
kora , drokba , kyang
In which language are these words found?

Answer - 16 : -

Kora – A Tibetan meditation practice or Pilgrimage
Drokba – Tibetan Nomads who manage herds
Kyang – Wild asses found in Tibet

Question - 17 : -
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.

Answer - 17 : -

Other picturesque phrases include:

Extended banks of cloud like long French loaves glowed pink

Sun emerged to splash the distant mountain tops with a rose-tinted blush

Snow-capped mountains gathering on the horizon

River was wide and mostly clogged with ice, brilliant white and glinting in the sunshine.

The trail hugged its bank, twisting with the meanders Big rocks daubed with patches of bright orange lichen.

It was marked by a large cairn of rocks festooned with white silk scarves and ragged prayer flags.

The plateau is pockmarked with salt flats and brackish lakes

Question - 18 : -
Notice this construction: Tsetan was eager to have them fixed. Write five sentences with a similar structure.

Answer - 18 : -

I was hoping to have the windows repaired.
The man was impatiently waiting to have his teeth fixed.
The driver was going to have his license cancelled.
The kids were waiting to get their ice-cream cones refilled.
The teacher was longing to have her tenure extended.

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