ABOUT THE AUTHOR....

• NICK MIDDLETON IS AN INTREPID TRAVELER, AN

ACADEMIC, DOCUMENTARY MAKER, AND MOST
IMPORTANTLY, A PERSON WITH DEEP AND ABIDING
INTEREST IN OTHER CULTURES. HE DERIVES GREAT
PLEASURE IN SPEAKING ABOUT HIS TRAVELS, AND HIS
UNDERSTANDING OF THE MIND-BOGGLING DIVERSITY OF
THE WORLD. BE IT A GROUP OF SCHOOL CHILDREN, OR AN
ASSEMBLY OF SCHOLARS, HE IS AT HOME WITH EVERYONE
WHO CARES TO LISTEN TO HIS FASCINATING TRAVELOGUE
AND HIS INSIGHT INTO THE WORLD THAT NURTURES
HUMANS OF SUCH DIVERSE TRAITS.
INTRODUCTION
T h i s c h a p t e r i s p a r t o f a t r a v e l o g u e a b o u t t h e a u t h o r ’s
travel along the ancient trade route called ‘Silk Road’
r e g i o n s a s t h e y a r e n o w. T h i s a c c o u n t o f t h e s i l k r o a d ,
with its contrasts and exotic details, describes the
challenges and hardships the author faced while
journeying to Mount Kailash on a pilgrimage
 ALL ABOUT SILK ROAD
The Silk Road was a network of trade routes which connected the East and West, and was
central to the economic, cultural, political, and religious interactions between these regions
from the 2nd century BCE to the 18th century. The Silk Road primarily refers to the land
routes connecting East Asia and Southeast Asia with South Asia, Persia, the Arabian
Peninsula, East Africa and Southern Europe.
The Silk Road derives its name from the lucrative trade in silk carried out along its length,
beginning in the Han dynasty in China (207 BCE–220 CE).
The Silk Road trade played a significant role in the development of the civilizations of
China, Korea,[6] Japan,[2] the Indian subcontinent, Iran, Europe, the Horn of Africa and Arabia,
opening long-distance political and economic relations between the civilizations. Though silk
was the major trade item exported from China, many other goods and ideas were
exchanged, including religions (especially Buddhism), syncretic philosophies, sciences, and
technologies like paper and gunpowder. So in addition to economic trade, the Silk Road was
a route for cultural trade among the civilizations along its network. Diseases, most
notably plague, also spread along the Silk Road.
HIS JOURNEY BEGINS IN RAVU,
TIBET……
• HE IS PRESENTLY IN A PLACE CALLED RAVU IN TIBET AND PLANS TO GO TO MOUNT KAILASH
TO COMPLETE HIS KORA

• KORA IS A TIBETAN RELIGIOUS RITUAL THAT INVOLVES WALKING AROUND A SACRED PLACE.
HE DECIDES TO TRAVEL IN TSETAN’S CAR WITH DANIEL AS AN ESCORT. TSETAN PLIES HIS CAR
IN THAT MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN AND IS WELL VERSED WITH THE ROAD AND THE
SURROUNDING TERRAIN.

• IT WAS QUITE EARLY IN THE MORNING. THE SUN WAS JUST RISING FROM BEHIND THE
MOUNTAINS SPLASHING ITS GOLDEN LIGHT ALL OVER THE PLACE. LHAMO, THE HOSTESS OF
THE PLACE WHERE THE AUTHOR HAD PUT UP GRACIOUSLY GAVE A LEATHER JACKET AS
PRESENT TO THE AUTHOR AS HER PARTING GIFT.
• FOR THE AUTHOR, THE ROAD THEY WERE TRAVELLING SEEMED SOMEWHAT
PERILOUS. BUT, TSETAN CALMED HIM WITH HIS COMFORTING WORDS. HE SAID, IF
IT DIDN’T SNOW, THE TRAVEL WOULD BE SMOOTH.
• THE TRAVELERS TOOK A SHORT-CUT ROUTE LEAVING CHANTANG BEHIND. VAST
BARREN PLAINS LAY AHEAD, WHERE THEY COULD SEE ONLY SOME STRAY
GAZELLES GRAZING ON THE SCANTY GRASS THAT GREW HERE AND THERE. FROM
HERE, MOUNT KAILASH WAS A STRAIGHT DRIVE.
 A VAST EMPTY LAND OF STONES,WITH RARE HUMAN
ENCOUNTER ....
• AS THEY DROVE ON, THE SMALL GRASS PATCHES VANISHED. WHAT GREETED THEM WAS JUST STONE
SURFACES. SOME WILD ASSES APPEARED FLEETINGLY. TSETAN POINTED TOWARDS A DISTANT SPOT,
WHERE HE SAID WE COULD SEE THE ENTIRE HERD OF THESE ANIMALS.
• AS WE APPROACHED THEM, THEY RAN AWAY EN MASSES, APPARENTLY OUT OF FRIGHT. THERE WERE
SO MANY OF THEM, AND THEIR GALLOPING KICKED OFF A SMALL CLOUD OF DUST.
• AS THE CAR RACED AHEAD, THEY SAW SOLITARY SHEPHERDS MAINTAINING A VIGIL OVER THEIR
FLOCKS. THESE DROKBAS (SHEPHERDS) WERE EITHER MEN OR WOMEN WHO WERE THOROUGHLY
WRAPPED UP, APPARENTLY TO PROTECT THEM FROM COLD. THEY WERE QUITE CURIOUS TO SEE THE
MOVING CAR. IN GLEE, SOME OF THEM WAIVED AT THE PASSENGERS IN THE CAR.
A SCARY CONFRONTATION WITH BLACK
TIBETAN MASTIFF....
• ALONG THE WAY, THEY CAME ACROSS SOME
NOMADS’ TENTS, GUARDED BY LARGE FEROCIOUS
BLACK DOGS. THESE DOGS WOULD COME
CHARGING AT US FRIGHTENINGLY, AND BARKED
LOUDLY TO SCARE US OFF THEIR TENT. FOR A
CERTAIN DISTANCE, THEY WOULD CHASE US AS IF
TO POUNCE ON US, AND THEN EASE AWAY ON
SEEING WE WERE REASONABLY OUT OF THE
HARM’S WAY.
MORE ROCKY MOUNTAINS AND A SNOWY RIVER…
• PEAKS OF SNOW-CAPPED MOUNTAINS BEGAN TO RISE FROM THE DISTANT HORIZON. THE
TRAVELERS ENTERED A VALLEY THAT HAD A WIDE RIVER FLOWING THROUGH IT. LARGE BLOCKS
OF ICE HAD VIRTUALLY MADE THE WATER STILL. WITH SUNSHINE, THE PLACE SPARKLED IN
WHITE.
• THE ROAD THE CAR WAS TRAVELLING RAN ALONG THE BANKS. THE ROAD WINDED THROUGH
THE TERRAIN AS THE CAR BEGAN TO CLIMB HIGHER AND HIGHER. THEY COULD SEE BIG PIECES
OF ROCK TO WHOSE SURFACE SOME HARDY PLANTS CLUNG HARD. THE UNDERNEATH OF THE
ROCK PIECES HAD DEPOSITS OF SNOW.
THE DREADED SNOW PATCHES ON THE ROAD …
• A LITTLE LATER, TSETAN SAW WHAT HE HAD FEARED MOST. THERE WAS SNOW ON THE ROAD. HE GOT
OFF THE CAR FOLLOWED BY DANIEL.
• A LITTLE AHEAD OF THE SPOT WHERE THE CAR HAD STOPPED, FIFTEEN METERS OF SNOW HAD
ACCUMULATED ON THE ROAD MAKING IT LOOK LIKE A WHITE PATCH. AFTER THAT, IT WAS THE
NORMAL ROAD AGAIN.
• THE TWO SIDES OF THE ROAD WERE COVERED WITH SNOW TOO, AND THE BANKS WERE TOO STEEP
FOR THE CAR TO CLIMB AND GO SKIRTING THE HUGE PATCH OF SNOW ON THE ROAD.
• THE AUTHOR AND DANIEL VENTURED INTO THE SNOW PATCH VERY CAREFULLY. THE AUTHOR’S
WATCH SHOWED THEY WERE 5210 METERS ABOVE THE SEA LEVEL.
• ALL THREE THREW SOME LOOSE SOIL ON THE ICY SURFACE OF THE ROAD.
TSETAN CAREFULLY DROVE THE CAR ON THE SPRINKLED SOIL, AND TO THEIR
GREAT RELIEF, THE CAR REACHED THE OTHER END.
• SOON THEY ENCOUNTERED ANOTHER SUCH SNOW PATCH. THIS TIME, TSETAN
COULD DEFTLY DRIVE HIS CAR AROUND THE PATCH AND REACH THE OTHER
SIDE.
THE ASCENT TO REACH THE HIGHEST POINT
STARTS ….
• THE CAR CONTINUED ALONG THE ROAD WITH AN UPWARD SLOPE. THE AUTHOR’S
WATCH SHOWED THEY HAD CLIMBED 5400 METERS. HE FELT ALTITUDE SICKNESS
COMMON AT SUCH HEIGHT. HE DRANK SOME WATER FOR RELIEF.
• FINALLY, THEY REACHED THE HIGHEST POINT OF THE PASS. IT WAS AT 5515 METERS.
THE PLACE HAD LARGE BOULDERS HAVING PRAYER SILK SCARVES WRAPPED AROUND
THEM.
• TSETAN TOOK THE VEHICLE TO A PETROL BUNK AND CHECKED THE THE VEHICLE’S
PETROL TANK. THE PETROL INSIDE HAD STARTED TO VAPORIZE DUE TO LOW
PRESSURE.
THE DESCENT STARTS …
• NOW, THE CAR BEGAN TO TRAVEL ALONG A DOWNWARD SLOPE. THE SICKNESS
SEEMED TO TAPER OFF.
• IT WAS 2 O’CLOCK. THEY ATE HOT NOODLES IN A MAKESHIFT WAY SIDE EATERY.
• RELICS OF THE FAR DISTANT AGE IN HISTORY WHEN THE PLACE WAS COVERED BY
OCEAN WERE VISIBLE IN THE FORM OF SALT PATCHES LEFT OVER FROM THE TIMES
THE SALTWATER SEAS DRIED UP.
• SALT PLATES AND SMALL LAKES WITH BRACKISH WATER WERE SCATTERED ALL OVER
THE AREA.
A PREHISTORIC SITE THAT HAS HUGE SALT
DEPOSITS LEFT FROM THE OCEAN THAT COVERED
THE LAND …
• SALT MINING WAS GOING ON IN BRISK PACE.
LABORERS BROKE THE SALT PLATES WITH THEIR
PICKAXES AND SHOVELS. THE TRUCKS LADEN
WITH THE SALT CARTED THEM OFF. ALL WORE
SUNGLASSES TO SAVE THEIR EYES FROM THE
BLIND GLARE OF THE REFLECTED SUN LIGHT.
A STOP-OVER AT HOR HORRIFIES THE AUTHOR…

• BY LATE AFTERNOON, THE PARTY HAD REACHED THE

SMALL TOWN OF HOR, LOCATED ON THE EAST-WEST
HIGHWAY. THIS ROAD USED TO LINK KASHMIR WITH
LHASA IN THE BYGONE DAYS.
• DANIEL WAS TO RETURN TO LHASA AND FOUND A TRUCK
THAT WAS HEADING THERE. HE BADE THE AUTHOR AND
TSETAN GOODBYE AND LEFT.
• THE CAR STOPPED NEAR A TYRE REPAIRING SHOP TO
HAVE TWO PUNCTURES FIXED.
• HOR WORE A LIFELESS DRY LOOK . NO TREES COULD BE FOUND IN ITS
VICINITY. IT WAS GRIM DEPRESSING PLACE. THE TWON WAS LITTERED WITH
GARBAGE UN-CLEARED FOR YEARS. IT WAS UNFORTUNATE TO SEE SUCH A
FILTHY PLACE LOCATED IN THE FRINGE OF THE FAMED MANSAROVAR
LAKE. THIS LAKE HAS A SPIRITUAL HALO AROUND IT, AND TIBETANS HOLD IT
VERY REVERENTIALLY.
• ACCORDING TO FOLKLORE, FOUR MIGHTY RIVERS, THE GANGA,
BRAHMAPUTRA, SUTLEJ, AND THE INDUS ORIGINATED FROM THIS LAKE.
ACTUALLY, THE RIVER SUTLEZ HAS ITS ORIGIN IN THE MANASAROVAR LAKE.
OTHER RIVERS LIKE THE INDUS, AND THE BRAHMAPUTRA HAVE THEIR
ORIGIN IN THE NEARBY MOUNT KAILASH. NO MATTER, WHAT
GEOGRAPHERS MIGHT SAY, BUDDHISTS AND HINDUS, THEREFORE, REVERE
THE LAKE SO MUCH AS A LIFE-SUSTAINING WATER BODY.
• THE TOWN HOR HAS NO SIGN OF A THRIVING
BUSTLING URBAN CENTER. IT HAS JUST ONE
RESTAURANT WILL A DULL AND DECREPIT
INTERIOR. ON ADVICE OF TSETAN, THE AUTHOR
WENT THERE TO HAVE A CUP OF TEA. THE GOOD
VIEW OF THE LAKE THROUGH ONE OF ITS BROKEN
WINDOWS CHEERED THE AUTHOR’S MOOD.
• A CHINESE WAITER WEARING A MILITARY
UNIFORM WIPED THE TABLE TOP WITH A DIRTY
MOP, AND THEN PUT A THERMO FLASK AND A
GLASS. THE THERMO CONTAINED THE TEA.
THE JOURNEY TO MOUNT KAILASH
STARTS ..
• TSETAN CAME AFTER HALF AN HOUR, AND
THE TWO RESUMED THEIR CAR JOURNEY.
THEY LEFT BEHIND ROCKY BARREN LANDS,
AND PILES OF GARBAGE ALONG THE ROAD.
THEY HEADED TOWARDS MOUNT
KAILASH. THE TEA SHOP AND THE TOWN HOR
LEFT VERY UNPLEASANT MEMORIES IN THE
AUTHOR’S MIND.
THE AUTHOR PONDERS HOW EARLIER VISITORS SPOKE SO
GLOWINGLY ABOUT THE PLACE ..

• HE RECOLLECTED THE EXPERIENCE OF A JAPANESE MONK NAMED EKAI KAWAGUCHI WHO

HAD VISITED THE LAKE IN 1900. THE PRISTINE BEAUTY OF THE LAKE AND ITS
SURROUNDINGS HAD LEFT HIM SPELL BOUND. HE WAS SO OVERWHELMED WITH THE
HEAVENLY EXPERIENCE THAT HE BROKE DOWN IN TEARS.
• ANOTHER TRAVELER, SVEN HEDIN, A SWEDE, HAD ALSO RECORDED HIS MOVING
EXPERIENCE OF THE BEAUTY OF THE LAKE VERY ELOQUENTLY. IN CONTRAST TO WHAT THE
AUTHOR HAD GATHERED FROM THESE TWO ACCOUNTS, THE FILTH AND SQUALOR OF HOR
CAME AS A DAMPENER FOR THE AUTHOR.
THEY ARRIVE AT DARCHEN …
• THE AUTHOR AND THE DRIVER TSETAN CONTINUED THEIR
ONWARD JOURNEY. THEY REACHED A GUEST HOUSE IN
DARCHEN AROUND 10.30PM. THE PUTRID AIR OF HOR
HAD CAUSED SOME MINOR INFECTION MAKING THE
AUTHOR STRUGGLING TO BREATHE WITH HIS BLOCKED
NOSE
• HE HAD TAKEN SOME HERBAL TEA HAD NO SOOTHING
EFFECT. HIS WATCH SHOWED THEY WERE AT 4760
METERS, NOT TOO MUCH UP THAN RAVU. ANYWAY, THE
AUTHOR BRACED HIMSELF FOR ANOTHER RESTLESS
NIGHT.
•A NIGHTMARE NIGHT IN THE GUEST HOUSE
…
• WITH BOTH NOSES BLOCKED, HE STRUGGLED TO BREATHE IN. HIS SLEEP
BECAME DISTURBED. IT MADE HIM FEEL MORE TIRED AND HUNGRY. IN GREAT
DISCOMFORT HE SAT UP ON HIS BED, AND STRANGELY HIS NOSES OPENED UP
AND HE COULD BREATHE NORMALLY. THE AUTHOR WAS PLEASANTLY
SURPRISED.
• BUT, THE PROBLEM RETURNED AGAIN AS SOON S HE LIED DOWN ON HIS BED.
AGAIN, HE SAT UP, AND AGAIN HE FELT INSTANT RELIEF. HE FELT BOTH QUEER,
AND SCARED. FOR THE REST OF THE NIGHT, HE REMAINED AWAKE.
•DARCHEN, BETTER THAN HOR, BUT
NO TOURISTS…
• DANCHEN WAS NOT AS SQUALID AS HOR, ALTHOUGH NOT SO
SPICK AND SPAN. THE SUN SHONE BRIGHTLY IN THE MORNING
SKY, AND THE PREVIOUS NIGHT’S SOUND SLEEP HAD LEFT THE
AUTHOR QUITE CHEERFUL.
• HE COULD SEE THE SNOW-CAPPED PEAKS OF THE MAJESTIC
HIMALAYAS IN THE HORIZON. THE MOUNTAIN GURLA
MANDHATA STOOD THERE WITH ITS PEAK TOUCHING THE
CLOUDS.
• DARCHEN, SADLY FOR THE AUTHOR, HAD NO
PILGRIMS, ALTHOUGH IT BORE THE MARKS OF
BEING PLACID, TYPICALLY TIBETAN COMMUNITY
TOWNSHIP. A STREAM HURRIED DOWN CLOSE TO
THE GUEST HOUSE WHERE THE AUTHOR STAYED.
WOMEN WASHED THEIR HAIR IN ITS WATERS, AND
MEN FOLK PLAYED SOME GAME LEISURELY ON A
OLD-FASHIONED WOODEN TABLE KEPT ON THE
YARD.
NO ENGLISH-SPEAKING PERSON COMPLICATES MATTERS
FOR THE AUTHOR …

• THE AUTHOR WAS CLUELESS ABOUT HIS NEXT COURSE OF ACTION. HE MULLED OVER THE
IDEA OF GOING ON HIS KORA ALONE, BUT HE WAS FEARFUL OF THE SNOW THAT COULD
HAVE BLOCKED THE TRAIL.

• IN DARCHEN, HE COULD SEE SNOW PIECES HERE AND THERE, AND THAT ADDED TO HIS
FEAR. SINCE TSETAN HAD ALREADY LEFT, AND HE COULD HARDLY FIND ANY ONE WITH
RUDIMENTARY ENGLISH KNOWLEDGE, HE FELT ALL THE MORE PERPLEXED.
 ENCOUNTER WITH NORBU IN THE CAFE …
• THE AUTHOR SPENT HIS TIME IN THE ONLY ONE RESTAURANT IN THE TOWN. WHEN HE WAS
PEERING INTO THE PAGES OF HIS DIARY, A STRANGER CAME NEAR HIM. HIS NAME WAS
NORBU, AND HE KNEW ENGLISH. SOON, THE MOOD OF THE AUTHOR LIGHTED UP, AND A
LIVELY CHAT STARTED BETWEEN THE TWO. NORBU WAS A SCHOLAR WHO WORKED IN THE
ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES IN BEIJING.
• TO THE GREAT DELIGHT OF THE AUTHOR, NORBU HAD COME FOR THE SAME PURPOSE OF
PERFORMING THE KORA. THE DUO MADE A PERFECT PAIR. NORBU STAYED IN THE SAME
GUEST HOUSE AS THE AUTHOR. HOWEVER, HE KNEW VERY LESS ABOUT THE COMPLEXITIES
OF GOING ON THE KORA.
• NORBU KEPT TELLING THE AUTHOR THAT THE PLACE WAS VERY HIGH UP, AND IT WOULD BE
AN UPHILL TASK FOR A FAT MAN LIKE HIMSELF. HE WAS NOT A PRACTICING BUDDHIST, BUT
BEING A TIBETAN KNEW SOMETHING ABOUT THE VALUE OF THE PILGRIMAGE.
 THE DUO DECIDE TO GO TOGETHER HIRING
A YAK TO CARRY BAGGAGE ....
• NORBU’S SUGGESTION TO HIRE A YAK WAS READILY
ACCEPTED BY THE AUTHOR. THAT WOULD LESSEN THE
DIFFICULTY OF CARRYING THEIR LUGGAGE. NORBU WAS
NOT A DEVOUT BUDDHIST AND WAS NOT THE IDEAL
PARTNER THAT THE AUTHOR HAD DREAMT OF, BUT
ACCEPTING HIS COMPANY WAS THE BEST CHOICE UNDER
THE CIRCUMSTANCES. QUITE JOKINGLY, NORBU TOLD
THAT HE WAS NOT GOING TO PROSTRATE AS IS
MANDATORY FOR THE KORA DEVOTEES, BECAUSE HE HAD
A BULGING TUMMY.
1. Why did the narrator undertake the journey to Mount Kailash? Describe his memories of the day when they set
out on their journey.
2. What did the narrator notice about the 'drokbas’?
3. The narrator was fascinated by the awesome mastiffs. Why?
4. When did the narrator feel unwell for the first time? What did he do?
5. What was the sight on the plateau ruins of the Tethys Ocean?
6. Why was the narrator sorry to see the miserable plight of Hor?
7. What is the belief about Lake Manasarovar? What is the fact?
8. 'Darchen didn't look so horrible after a good night's sleep's. Justify.
9. 'I hadn't made much progress with my self- help programme on positive thinking. ' why does the narrator feel
so?
10. Who was Norbu? How could he be a help to the narrator?
11. 'He suggested we hire some yaks to carry our baggage, which I interpreted as a good sign'. Why does the
narrator feel so?

SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS:

1. The narrator on his way to Mount Kailash came across a lot of
topographic variations. Comment
2. The narrator realized that the snow was both dangerous as well as
beautiful. Justify.
3. Enumerate the difficulties that the group faced in Hor.
4. Describe in detail the narrator's miserable night in Darchen. Narrate the
narrator's meeting with the Tibetan doctor.
5. Meeting Norbu came as an immense relief to the narrator. Why?

LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS: