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Kathmandu
'A slumber did my spirit seal,' says the poet. That is, a deep sleep 'closed off' his soul (or mind). How does the poet react to his loved one's death? Does he feel bitter grief? Or does he feel a great peace?
Though his loved one's death has left the poet numb and the 'common human fears' no longer affected him, his reaction cannot be labelled as 'bitter grief'. This is because by the end of the poem, we come to know that the poet imagines her to be a part of nature, rotating with the earth on its axis. He takes consolation from the fact that she is still alive in the nature and is beyond life's trials. This promotes the idea that he feels a 'great peace' of mind. Thus, we can conclude that the poet's feelings are ambiguous.
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(i) Who fights at the temple and how?
(ii) How is the river Bagmati used by the people there?
(iii) Find the words from the passage which mean the same as –
(a) dried, (b) emerges.
(a) What is the atmosphere inside the Buddhist shrine?
(b) Where do the small shops stand?
(c) What do you understand by ‘a haven of quietness’?
(a) What type of place is Kathmandu, according to the writer?
(b) Mention some of the things that one can buy in Kathmandu bazar.
(c) Find a word from the passage which means ‘clear’.
(i) Which route would the writer take back home if he were propelled by enthusiasm for travel per se?
(ii) Which route does he decide to take up?
(iii) Find the words/expressions from the passage which indicate the same meaning as in –
(a) by itself, (b) thrill.
(a) Why is the writer unable to tear himself away from the square?
(b) Why does the writer consider flute music ‘the most universal’?
(c) Find a word from the passage which means ‘harmony’.
How does the narrator describe Kathmandu?
How does Vikram Seth describe the Hindu temple?
How does Vikram Seth describe the Buddhist shrine of Kathmandu?
What is the belief associated with the half-immersed shrine in the river Bagmati ? What does it tell us?
What attracts Vikram Seth’s attention in the square? Why?
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