Class 11 commerce students can refer to Chapter 8 Silk Road notes given below which is an important chapter in the class 11 English book. These notes and important questions and answers have been prepared based on the latest CBSE and NCERT syllabus and books issued for the current academic year. Our team of English teachers has prepared these notes for class 11 English for the benefit of students so that you can read these revision notes and understand each topic carefully.

Silk Road Notes Class 11 English

Refer to the notes and important questions given below for Silk Road which is really useful and has been recommended by Class 11 English teachers. Understanding the concepts in detail and then solving questions by yourself will help you to learn all topics given in your NCERT Books.

The lesson ‘Silk Road’ is an extract form the author’s travelogue. Here the author describes only a small part of his journey form Ravu, a small montain village to Darchen which is at the foot of Mt. Kailash.

Jouney towards Mount Kailash

• Lahmo gives a farewell present to author, a long sleeved sheep skin coat. Worn by men.
• The author left Ravu in the company of Daniel and Tsetan. Tsetan knew a short-cut. He said the journey would be smooth if there was no snow.
• From the gently rolling hills of Ravu they took a short through vast open plains.On the way they saw a few gazelles and a herd of wild asses.
• Again passing by the hills they could see the lonely drokbas tending their flocks.
• Men and women would pause and stare at their car, occasionally waving as they passed by.

The Tibetan Mastiff:

• As they passed the nomad’s tents there were the Tibetan mastiffs. They would explode into action as they neared the tents.
• They barked furiously and were completely fearless.
• They would chase the car for some distance and would then go back
• When they were at 5210 meters above the sea level, the road became bumpier.
• The icy top layer of the snow was very dangerous; the car could slip off the road. The snow continued blocking their way.
• As they reached 5515 meters above the sea level, the atmospheric pressure became very low and Tsetan opened the lid of the petrol tank to release the evaporated fuel.
  The author experienced severe headache.

The town of Hor:

• By late afternoon, they had reached the small town of Hor situated on shores of lake Mansarovar.
• Mansarovar a source of four main Indian rivers the Indus, the Ganges, the Sutlej and the Brahamputra.
• Hor was grim, miserable place. There was no vegetation, just dust and rocks.
• Unlike the past, the place no longer appeared holy.

Reaching Darchen:

• By 10.30 p.m., they reached a guesthouse in Darchen.
• The author had a very troubled night. His sinus were blocked and he was not able to get enough oxygen and found it difficult to sleep.
• Next day Tsetan took him to the Darchen Medical College.
• Doctor told him it was just cold and the altitude giving him troubles. He gave him some medicine and that night he was able to sleep well.
• Tsetan left the author in Darchen and went away.

Dry Darchen:

• Like Hor, Darchen was dusty and heaps of refuse could be seen all around.
• There were not many shops in Darchen. The town appeared to be sparsely populated.
• He felt lonely, as they were no pilgrims. He had reached there very early in the season.

Meeting Norbu:

• Author wanted to reach Mount Kailash to do kora. But he didn’t want to do it alone.
• He was looking for someone who could speak or understand English. One day he was sitting in a cafe. When Norbu saw him reading an English book he came and introduced himself to the author.
• He was a Tibetan but worked in Beijing at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
• He too was there to do kora. But he was not a religious person. Both of them decided to climb Mount Kailash.
• Norbu turned out to be the ideal companion for author.

Short Answer Questions

Question. Who was Lhamo? What farewell gift did she give to author?
Ans. Lhamo was a Tibetan women who had set up a tent fore pilgrims near Raru. She was honest and helpful. She offered a long sleeved sheep skin coat as a farewell gift.

Question. Who did the party come across after leaving Raru?
Ans. From the gently rolling hills of Raru, the author’s car came to vast open plains. They saw a few antelopes grazing and further on, they saw a heard of wild ass raising apall of dust. As the car approached them, they galloped away.

Question. What does the author tell you about Tibetan mastiffs?
Ans. The Tibetan mastiffs were huge block dogs with rough hair. They were very ferocious. They barked furiously and appeared fearlessly in front of the vehicle for there very
qualities they became popular in China’s imperial courts as hunting dogs.

Question. What impression did the two towns Hor and Darchen leave on the author’s mind?
Ans. Hor was a small town, close to Mansarovar lake. It was a miserable place, with no greenery. The author found the place in contrast to the accounts he had read about lake Mahasrovar. He drank some herbal tea in the cafe there. The author’s next half was at Darchen. It was also a dusty place with heaps of rubble and litter lying here and there. His cold had become worse and he could not breathe. He stayed awake all right. The town had a couple of general stores which sold Chinese goods.

Question. Who was Norbu? How did the other strike friendship with Norbu?
Ans. Norbu was a Tibetan scholar who used to write articles about holy lake. He was working at an academy in Beijing. It was his first to the place. He knew a bit of English. This brought him closer to author. He was n’t practising Buddhist. He suggested that they should hire some yaks to carry their luggage and start their journey. He turned out to be an ideal companion.

Long Answers Type Questions

Question. What difficulties did the author encounter and overcome when he set out to reach Mount Kailash?
Ans. The author set out from Ravu to complete the Kora. to the destination “Mount Kailash, “beyond Mansarovar lake he had to face many difficulties. Rocks, snow and height problems made the journey risky. On the way, they came across several mountaineous animals. He saw nomad’s tents with huge Tibetan dogs guarding them. The author had his first physical problem when he felt the pressure mounting up in his ears. When Tsetan saw snow lying across the tracks, he sprayed dirt on the frozen surface to make it rough and safe. By afternoon they reached the small town of Hor. It was dusty, dry and rocky At Darchen he had cold and mountain sickness. He took some medicine from Tibetan doctor. The next day he met Norbu, who could speak English. Both decided to continue their “Kora” together.