Silk Road

Chapter Summary

Poet Nick Middleton wrote the story Silk Road. The story highlights the narrator's journey to Mount Kailash in Silk Road. The narrator wishes that in order to complete his Kora he must visit Mt. Kailash. The author hires Tsetan, the driver, who can drive him up to the mountain and can give him the company. The entire story depicts the author's experience of a journey to Mt. Kailash. He chooses a tough router in order to embark on this pilgrimage journey. The author also takes along Daniel as an acquaintance to chaperon him to Darchen. Throughout the story, the reader will come to know about the author’s experience of his journey through Silk Road. The author also mentioned in his story the lifestyle and nature of people living in hilly areas. He stated that the people residing in mountains are very much sensitive.

Why is the story titled “Silk Road”?

The article is entitled after the historic name, Silk routes or Silk Road; the road has a network that connects the Afro-Eurasian landmass. The road that established the first trade channel of Chinese species, silk, porcelain, and teas is often denoted as the silk route or road. Through this silk road, various Indian materials are also traded. Those trading materials include pepper, pernicious stones, gold and silver of the Roman Empire. Other materials that are also traded via the Silk Road are wine, carpets, jewels, and fine glassware. The road got its name due to the silk trade with China.

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

Tibetan mastiffs were much more popular in imperial courts of China as hunting dogs. These hunting dogs, were generally bought along the silk road or route in ancient times as Tribute from Tibet. These dogs are utilized as watchdogs and are huge. They all explode into actions like bullets and are also fearless and very furious than other common watchdogs.

Experience of the author at Hor

Hor was a miserable and grim place. At Hor, the rocks and dust remained scattered all over in abundance and a little amount of crop fertilization and vegetation can be seen. The place sat on Lake Manasarovar shore and generally seemed to be very dejected and unfortunate.

The writer was flabbergasted to realise the contrast in his experience to that of earlier accounts. Ekai Kawaguchi, who was a Japanese monk, arrived at Hor in the year 1990 and was also, got influenced by the lakes' sanctity and burst into tears. The water of the lake is hallowed and has a similar effect on Seven Hedin. A Swede was not at all prone to sentimental outbursts. On reaching Hor, the narrator first got 2 punctures mended and then got relaxed after sipping tea that was served by a Chinese youth in the cafe. Apart from all these, the beautiful view of the lake pleased the author.

Reason for Author’s Disappointment with Darchen

The author was very much disappointed with Darchen. The high altitude of Darchen was giving the narrator various health issues. The author got a bad cold and was unable to sleep properly at night. He was the early arrival to that place and was not accompanied by any of the pilgrims from his place. The place also disappointed the narrator with his uniqueness as dust and rocks are scattered everywhere.

The author also found the place partially derelict, and even punctuated by heaps of rubble and refuse. Overall, the author has a very unpleasant experience at Darchen.

The Author’s Positive Thinking Strategy – Did it work?

The author generally got very disappointed at the place Darchen. He complained that he had caught a cold and cannot sleep well at night. He also suffered a lot from various health issues because of the dusty and unpleasant climate. At this moment, his driver Tsetan was also left for Lhasa and he was the first one to reach the place and was not accompanied by any pilgrims, which made him feel lonely.

After that, the narrator met Norbu. Norbu was also a Tibetan who wished to visit Mount Kailash. As both of them were academicians, they made up a good team on their trip to Kailash. This is the main reason the narrator started thinking positive and this provided him with some enthusiasm and delight.

Purpose of Author’s journey to Mount Kailash

The primary motive of the author was to redeem himself along with his issues and huddles with life. In this circumstance, the decision of the writer to go for Mount Kalish was spiritual as well as directed to the betterment of his life to some extent. The author not only devoted their life to his journey towards Kailash but also found it to be the ultimate thrush of life as he aspired to be on the top someday. The enthusiasm and devotion of the writer allowed him to achieve the lifelong dream of his journey to Mount Kailash. The positivethinking strategy allowed the writer to enrol in the journey of his lifetime and most importantly, it allowed him to become optimistic about his journey toward Mount Kailash. The author was also directed to the aesthetics of Mount Kailash which allowed him to direct himself successfully towards the journey of Mount Kailash in real-time.

FAQs

Q1. How did Tsetan support the author during his journey?

Ans. Tsetan was an efficient and good driver, who accompanied the author and took him up to the mountain. During his journey, Tsetan kept informing the narrator about the places they were visiting. Tsetan was very much caring and left the author when they reached Darchen. There on finding the author will he took him to medical college and bought him medicine. He was also a good Buddhist.

Q2. 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. - What does this statement mean?

Ans. Tsetan was a good Buddhist and an efficient driver. He took the author safely up to the mountain and kept him informed about all the places they were visiting. Tsetan believed that death was not the end of anyone’s life. He also told the author that as Kailash is a holy place, it will value his life and will take him to Heaven.

Q3. When did the author meet Norbu?

Ans. The author was feeling lonely when Tsetan left for Lhasa. He was feeling lonely as there were no pilgrims and at that time, he meets Norbu, who was his academician and was also a Tibetan.