Here we have given NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Beehive Chapter 10 Kathmandu.
Chapter 10 Kathmandu
Thinking about The Text
Q1. Do you like travelling? The writer, Vikram Seth, enjoys it very much. In his book, Heaven Lake, he describes a long journey from China to India, via Tibet and Nepal.
Ans: Yes, I like travelling as it gives an insight into the unknown world.
Q 2. Have you heard of places like Ajmer Sharif, Madurai, Sanchi, Varanasi, Sarnath, or Halebid? Can you name some other places like these?
Ans: Yes, I have heard of the holy places like Ajmer Sharif, Madurai, Sanchi, Varanasi, Sarnath, or Halebid. Some other such places are Amarnath, Vaishno Devi, Haridwar, Ujjain and Shirdi.
Q3. What do the surroundings of a holy place in your city look like? Think about it as you read Vikram Seth’s description of Kathmandu.
Ans: In my city, usually the surroundings of the holy places are cluttered, noisy and overcrowded. Shops selling owers for offering, idols of different Gods, prasad, etc. line the nearby streets. These places are visited by hundreds of devotees daily.
Answer these questions in one or two words or in short phrases.
Q1. Name the two temples the author visited in Kathmandu.
Ans: Pashupatinath temple and Baudhnath stupa.
Q2. The writer says, “All this I wash down with Coca Cola.” What does ‘all this’ refer to?
Ans: ‘All this’ refers to eating a bar of marzipan, a corn-on-the-cob roasted in a charcoal stove (rubbed with salt, chilli powder and lemon), and reading a couple of love story comics and a Reader’s Digest.
Q3.What does Vikram Seth compare to the quills of a porcupine?
Ans: Vikram Seth compares the fifty or sixty bansuris protruding in all directions from the pole of a flute seller to the quills of a porcupine.
Q4. Name five kinds of flutes.
Ans: The reed neh, the Japanese shakuhachi, the deep bansuri of Hindustani classical music, the clear or breathy flutes of South America, and the high-pitched Chinese flutes.
Answer each question in a short paragraph.
Q1. What difference does the author note between the flute seller and the other hawkers?
Ans: The author notes that while the other hawkers shouted out their wares, the flute seller did not. He simply played a flute, slowly and meditatively, without excessive display.
Q2. What is the belief at Pashupatinath about the end of Kaliyug?
Ans: At Pashupatinath, there is a small shrine that protrudes from the stone platform on the river bank of Bagmati. It is believed that when the shrine will emerge fully, the goddess inside it will escape. The evil period of Kaliyug on earth will then end.
Q3. The author has drawn powerful images and pictures. Pick out three examples each of-
(i) the atmosphere of ‘febrile confusion’ outside the temple of Pashupatinath (for example: some people trying to get the priest’s attention are elbowed aside…)
(ii) the things he sees
(iii) the sounds he hears
Ans: 3.(i) The author has drawn powerful images and pictures of the atmosphere of ‘febrile confusion’ outside the temple of Pashupatinath. These include the following: a group of saffron-clad Westerners struggling to enter the main gate as only Hindus were allowed to enter the temple; a fight that breaks out between two monkeys; and a royal Nepalese princess for whom everyone makes way.
Ans3 (ii) The author sees the white dome of Baudhnath Stupa, which was ringed by a road; small shops selling felt bags, Tibetan prints and silver jewellery; and a flute seller holding a pole carrying 50-60 flutes.
Ans3 (iii) The author hears film songs blaring out from the radios; car horns and bicycle bells; and hawkers’ cries.
Answer the following questions in not more than 100−150 words each.
Q1. Compare and contrast the atmosphere in and around the Baudhnath shrine with the Pashupathinath temple.
Ans: The atmosphere at the Pashupatinath temple was noisy, and full of chaos and confusion. Worshippers were trying to get the priest’s attention; others were pushing their way to the front; saffron-clad Westerners were trying to enter the temple; monkeys were ghting and adding to the general noise; a corpse was being cremated on the banks of the river Bagmati; washerwomen were at their work, while children were bathing. In contrast, the Baudhnath stupa was “a haven of quietness in the busy streets around”. There was no crowd, which helped build the stillness and serenity at the Buddhist shrine.
Q2. How does the author describe Kathmandu’s busiest streets?
Ans: Along Kathmandu’s narrowest and busiest streets, there are small shrines and ower-adorned deities. Apart from these, there are fruit sellers, ute sellers, hawkers of postcards, shops selling Western cosmetics, lm rolls, chocolate, those selling copper utensils and Nepalese antiques. The author hears lm songs that were blaring out from the radios, sounds of car horns and bicycle bells, vendors shouting out their wares. He says that stray cows roam about on the roads. He also draws a vivid picture of a ute seller with many bansuris protruding from his pole. He describes how the serene music produced by the ute seller is heard clearly above all the other noise.
Q3. “To hear any flute is to be drawn into the commonality of all mankind.” Why does the author say this?
Ans: The author considers flute music to be “the most universal and most particular” of all music. This is a musical instrument that is common to all cultures. We have the reed neh, the recorder, the Japanese shakuhachi, the deep bansuri of Hindustani classical music, the clear or breathy utes of South America, the high-pitched Chinese utes, etc. Even though each of these has its specic ngering and compass yet, for the author, to hear any ute is “to be drawn into the commonality of all mankind”. This is because in spite of their differences, every ute produces music with the help of the human breath. Similarly, despite the differences in caste, culture, religion, region, all human beings are the same, with the same living breath running through all of them.
Read the following sentences carefully to understand the meaning of the italicised phrases. Then match the phrasal verbs in Column A with their meanings in Column B.
Ans:
Column A Column B
(i) break out (d) of start suddenly, (usually a fight, a war or a disease)
(ii) break off (a) to come apart due to force
(iii) break down (f) stop working
(iv) break away (from someone) (e) to escape from someone’s grip
(v) break up (b) end a relationship
(vi) break into (c) break and enter illegally; unlawful trespassing
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