Bishop Scott Girls’ School

Jaganpura, Brahmpura, By- Pass, Patna-27

Name: Tannvi Aishwaryam

Class/Section: 11 ‘A’
Roll Number:14
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 Acknowledgement
 Apart from the efforts of myself, the success of this project
depends largely on the encouragement and guidelines of many
others. I take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the people
who have been instrumental in the successful completion of this
project. I would like to express my gratitude to the School and
Principal, Ms. Lindsy Dayalkumar for providing all facilities and
encouragement. I would like to thank Mrs. Surbhi , my English
Teacher, for his tremendous support2
and help. A special thanks to
my family for their support, which was vital for the success of this
SILK
ROAD
By Nick Middleton
 About the Author Nick Middleton

Nick Middleton (born 1960) is a British physical geographer and supernumerary

fellow of St Anne's College, Oxford He specialize in desertification..

Nick Middleton was born in London, England. As a geographer, he has travelled to

more than 50 countries.
Some of his famous books are
• Going to Extremes, Nick middleton
• Global Casino,
• Rivers: A Very Short Introduction

He won the Royal Geographical Society's Ness Award in 2002.

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 Theme of the story

This chapter is part of a travelogue about the

author’s travel along the ancient trade route
called ‘Silk Road’ regions as they are now. This
account of the Silk Road, with its contrasts and
exotic detail, describes the challenges and
hardships the author faced while journeying to
Mount Kailash on a pilgrimage.

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 About the Characters

The Author : He is a Professor of Geography at Oxford University and an

environmental consultant.
Tsetan : He is the owner of the car hired by the author for the journey, as well as
being a tourist guide.
Daniel : He is an interpreter from Lhasa who travelled part of the time with the
author.
Norbu : He is a Tibetan working at an academy in Beijing who wants to carry out
the pilgrimage to Mount Kailash.

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 SUMMARY OF THE STORY
The story is about the trek that the author took with Tsetan, a guide and
his mate Daniel from Ravu to Mount Kailash to do ‘kora’ (Buddhist
spiritual practice/ritual). He had heard a lot about the spiritual magic of
the Lake Mansarovar and Mount Kailash and wanted to experience on his
own.

They packed some sheepskin clothes for extreme cold weather

and then hired a car that Tsetan drove. They took a path lading
South West form Lhasa to Kashmir, the ancient fabled trade path
called as ‘Silk Road’.

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They came across beautiful natural sights of fleet gazelles
and blooming valleys. They saw the dominant yaks and
tarrying Tibetan Mastiffs that guarded the habitations of the
nomadic tribes of the mountains.

As the elevation started to increase, the air pressure dropped.

So Tsetan opened the gas tanks to release the vaporized fuel
in order to avoid any leakage. The author and Daniel got out
of the car as the turns and bends on the road became acute TIBETAN
and the snow made the road slippery. MASTIFFS

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Tsetan was able to drive it till the small town on the
banks of Lake Mansarovar called ‘Hor’. The author
found the sight of the lake disappointing and the town
even more desolate and morbid. They had some tea and
then Daniel boarded a truck back to Lhasa.
MANSAROVAR

The author and Tsetan went ahead with the journey to Darchen. Here, the health problems
of the author worsened and his sinus got completely blocked. He started having trouble
breathing and after a sleepless night, Tsetan took him to the city hospital and medical
college.

The doctor attributed his troubles to cold and fatigue

and gave some medications to help him sleep. After a
relaxing sleep, the author decided to cover the final
stretch to Mount Kailash. 9
Suddenly, the author is approached by Norbu, a Tibetan who worked at the
University of Beijing. He was not a practicing Buddhist but was wring a
research paper on the spiritual Mountain and the ‘Kora

They both chatted for a whole and then hired yaks to haul their
things. When they reached the summit of Mount Kailash, the author
performed his ‘Kora’ and prostrated while Norbu observed the place
for his research.

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 ABOUT SILK ROUTE

The Silk Route was a historic trade route that dated from the second century B.C. until the
14th century A.D. It stretched from Asia to the Mediterranean, traversing China, India, Persia,
Arabia, Greece, and Italy.

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It was dubbed the Silk Route because of the heavy silk trading that took place
during that period. This valuable fabric originated in China, which initially had a
monopoly on silk production until the secrets of its creation spread. In addition to
silk, the route facilitated the trade of other fabrics, spices, grains, fruits and
vegetables, animal hides, wood and metal work, precious stones, and other items
of value.

The Silk Route was a series of ancient trade networks that connected China and
the Far East with countries in Europe and the Middle East. The route included a
group of trading posts and markets that were used to help in the storage,
transport, and exchange of goods. It was also known as the Silk Road.

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Thank You

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