Amity International School, NOIDA

Class X (2022-23)
HANDOUT- Kathmandu

Instructions for students:

(i)This handout is a help, meant for you to complete your assignment in your registers.
(ii)The questions have been supported with relevant hints and value points for your help, so
that you may structure your answers appropriately in the registers
(iii)Please maintain the order of questions, as per the handout, while doing your work in the
register and draw a line after every question.

Summary

1. This is an extract from Vikram Seth’s travelogue, ‘Heaven Lake’. We get glimpses of
Kathmandu, the famous Pashupatinath temple and the Baudhnath stupa.
2. Kathmandu is shown as a vivid, mercenary(for money) and religious city that is a
crowded and noisy. Apart from the two famous shrines, there are a number of small
shrines in the narrow and busy streets. The author finds fruit sellers, flute sellers, hawkers
of postcards, shops selling western cosmetics, films, chocolates, etc.  
3. He sees a flute seller and his music hyptonises him. He finds it difficult to ‘tear’ himself
away from the flute seller’s music and is moved by its closeness to the human voice. The
music of the flute is closest to the human voice because pauses and breaths are needed to
produce musical notes just as phrases and sentences are uttered in human voice.
4. He establishes the commonness of the flute across various cultures of the world.

RTC-1
‘I find it difficult to tear myself away from the square. Flute music always does this to me:
it is at once the most universal and the most particular of sounds.”
a. Who is the speaker of these lines? Where is he?
b. Why does the speaker say these lines?
c. Why does the speaker describe the music of the flute as “the most universal and most
particular of sounds”
d. Pick the meaning of 'tear myself away'.
i. to disapproves ii. to be amaculate iii. to be disturbed iv. to get separated

RTC-2
A corpse is being cremated on its banks; washerwomen are at their work and children bathe.
From a balcony a basket of flowers and leaves, old offerings now wilted, is dropped into the
river. A small shrine half protrudes from the stone platform on the river bank. When it emerges
fully, the goddess inside will escape, and the evil period of the Kaliyug will end on earth.

a.Which 'bank' is being referred to?

i. Shivganga. ii.river bank
iii. holy Bagmati iv. Kaveri

b. What is a shrine ?
i. idol ii.sanctum
iii. cave iv. Stairway
c. What do the 'old offerings' refer to ? ​
i. Old shrouds and clothes ii. dry withered flowers
iii. basket of flowers iv. none of the above

d. What was the common belief about the half protruded small shine?
i. The world will come to an end if the idol emerges fully.
ii. If the idol emerges it will bring prosperity.
iii. If the idol emerges fully, the evil period will end.
iv. The goddess will bring the evil period of Kalyug.

SAQ (40-50 words)

Q1. How is the flute player’s way of selling flutes different from that of the other hawkers
around?
Q2. What does Vikram Seth compare to the quills of a porcupine to?

LAQ (100-120 words)

Q1. Compare and contrast the atmosphere in and around Pashupatinath temple to the Baudhnath
Shrine.
Q2. ' To hear any flute is to be drawn into the commonality of all mankind.' Why does the author
say this?

Value Points for Answers

RTC-1
a. The writer, Vikram Seth is the narrator.
b. Kathmandu
c. universal’ because this musical instrument, made of hollow bamboo is found in every
culture in the world. …‘particular’ because each flute, though played in almost a similar
manner, emits a distinct, unique, and individual kind of music.
d. to get separated
RTC-2
a-iii, b-ii, c-ii, d-iii

SAQ (40-50 words)

A1. The flute seller plays his flute slowly and meditatively. He does not indulge in excessive
display or show any desperation to sell his flutes. He does not shout to sell his flutes, yet, the
sound of the flute is distinctly heard above the noise of the traffic and of the hawkers.

A2. Vikram Seth compares the flute seller's bamboo pole that has fifty or sixty flutes protruding
from it to the quills of a porcupine.

LAQ

A1. Pashupatinath Temple: Febrile confusion, many worshippers trying to get priest’s
attention..Only Hindus..Westerners trying to get permission to enter.Monkeys, Corpses, Smaller
shrines, river, washer women, children.

Baudhnath Shrine : IN CONTRAST ..Stillness, devoid of large crowds, haven of quietness in the
busy street around it, Small shops, Tibetan immigrants.
A2. The author is aware that music appeals to everyone…… calms the mind.

The flute is universal because all culture has flutes, though each has a different tone and pitch.
All flutes soothe the heart of the listener..irrespective of caste, creed, colour. Hence….to hear the
flute is to be drawn into the commonality of mankind.

The music of all the flutes closely resembles the human voice. Every flute needs pauses and
breaths in the same manner in which phrases and sentences are uttered in the human voice. These
pauses and breaths are generated through fingering of the holes of a flute. This characteristic
feature of the flutes gives the author a feeling of being “drawn into the commonality of
mankind”, which gives him a sense of universality and harmony.

ADHERE to the WORD LIMIT. All answers must be in grammatically in correct English using
appropriate VPs.