SEBA / SMEBA / NCERT
CLASS 9 ENGLISH SOLUTIONS (BEEHIVE)
CHAPTER - KATHMANDU
By Vikram Seth
CLASS 9 ENGLISH SOLUTIONS (BEEHIVE)
SEBA / SMEBA / NCERT
Thinking about
the Text
Answer: The route the author had thought of but did not take to
Delhi is given below: Kathmandu — Bihar (Patna) — Uttar Pradesh
(Benares-Allahabad-Agra)— Delhi
Page No:
132
I.
Answer these
questions in one or two words or in short
phrases.
1.
Name the two temples the author visited
in Kathmandu.
1.
Ans: The two temples the author visited
in Kathmandu were the
Pashupatinath temple and the Baudhnath stupa.
2.
The writer says,
“All this I wash down
with Coca Cola.”
What does ‘all this’ refer to?
2.
Ans: ‘All this’
refers to eating
a bar of marzipan, a corn-on-the-cob roasted in a charcoal
stove (rubbed with
salt, chilli powder
and lemon), and reading a couple of love story comics
and a Reader’s Digest.
3. What does Vikram Seth compare to the quills
of a porcupine?
Ans: Vikram Seth compares
the fifty or sixty bansuris protruding in all directions from the pole
of a flute seller to the quills
of a porcupine.
4.
Name five kinds
of flutes.
Ans: The reed neh,
the Japanese shakuhachi, the deep bansuri of Hindustani classical music, the clear
or breathy flutes
of South America, and the high-pitched Chinese
flutes.
II.
Answer each
question in a short paragraph.
1.
What difference does
the author note
between the flute
seller and the other hawkers?
1.
Ans: The author notes
that while the other hawkers
shouted out their wares, the flute seller
did not. He simply played
a flute, slowly
and meditatively, without excessive display.
2.
What is the belief at Pashupatinath about
the end of Kaliyug?
Ans: At Pashupatinath, there is a small shrine
that protrudes from
the stone platform on the river
bank of Bagmati. It is believed that when the shrine will emerge fully,
the goddess inside
it will escape.
The evil period of Kaliyug on earth
will then end.
3.
The author has
drawn powerful images
and pictures. Pick
out three examples each of
(i)
the atmosphere of ‘febrile confusion’ outside the temple
of
Pashupatinath (for
example: some people
trying to get the priest’s attention
are elbowed aside…)
Ans: The author
has drawn powerful
images and pictures of the
atmosphere of ‘febrile
confusion’ outside the temple of Pashupatinath.
These include the following: a group of
saffron-clad Westerners struggling to enter the main gate
as only Hindus
were allowed to enter
the temple; a fight that
breaks out between
two monkeys; and
a royal Nepalese princess for whom everyone
makes way.
(ii)
the things he sees
Ans: He saw that the
Baudhnath Stupa had an immense
white dome, which was ringed
by a road. Small shops
were there on the outer
edge where felt bags,
Tibetan prints and silver jewellery could be bought. There were no crowds there.
On the busiest
streets of Kathmandu, he saw fruit sellers, flute sellers, hawkers
of postcards, shops
selling Western cosmetics, film rolls,
chocolate, copper utensils
and Nepalese antiques.
(iii)
the sounds he hears
Ans: The sounds
he heard were
film songs that
were blaring out
from the radios, car horns,
bicycle bells, vendors
shouting out their
wares. He also listened to flute music,
calling it the most universal and most particular of sounds.
III.
Answer the following questions in not more than 100 − 150 words each.
1.
Compare
and contrast the atmosphere in and around
the Baudhnath shrine with
the Pashupathinath temple.
Ans: The atmosphere at the Pashupatinath temple was noisy,
and full of chaos
and confusion. Worshippers were trying to get the priest’s
attention; others were
pushing their way to the front; saffron-clad Westerners were trying
to enter the temple; monkeys
were fighting and adding to the general
noise; a corpse
was being cremated on the banks of the river Bagmati;
washerwomen were at their work,
while children were bathing. In contrast, the Baudhnath stupa
was “a haven
of quietness in the busy
streets around”. There
was no crowd, which helped build
the stillness and
serenity at the Buddhist shrine.
2.
How does the author describe Kathmandu’s busiest streets?
Ans: Along Kathmandu’s narrowest and busiest streets, there are small shrines and flower-adorned deities. Apart from these,
there are fruit sellers, flute sellers, hawkers of
postcards, shops selling Western cosmetics, film rolls, chocolate, those
selling copper utensils and Nepalese antiques. The author hears
film songs that
were blaring out from
the radios, sounds
of car horns and bicycle
bells, vendors shouting out their
wares. He says
that stray cows
roam about on the roads.
He also draws a vivid
picture of a flute seller
with many bansuris protruding from his pole. He describes how the serene
music produced by the flute seller is heard clearly
above all the other noise.
3.
“To hear any flute is to be drawn into
the commonality of all
mankind.” Why does the author
say this?
Ans: The author considers flute music to be “the
most universal and most
particular”
of all music.
This is a musical instrument that is common
to all cultures. We have the reed neh, the recorder, the Japanese
shakuhachi, the deep bansuri of
Hindustani classical music,
the clear or breathy flutes of South
America, the high-pitched Chinese flutes, etc.
Even though
each of these
has its specific fingering and compass
yet, for the author, to hear any flute is “to be drawn into
the commonality of all
mankind”. This is because in spite of their differences, every flute produces music
with the help of the human breath.
Similarly, despite the differences in caste, culture,
religion, region, all human beings
are the same, with
the same living
breath running through
all of them.
Thinking
about Language
I. Read
the following sentences carefully to understand the meaning of the
italicised phrases. Then
match the phrasal
verbs in Column
A with their meanings in Column B.
1.
A communal war broke out when the princess was abducted by the
neighbouring prince.
2.
The cockpit broke off from the
plane during the
plane crash.
3.
The car broke down on the way and we were
left stranded in the
jungle.
4.
The dacoit broke away
from the police
as they took
him to court.
5.
The brothers broke up after the
death of the
father.
6.
The thief broke into
our house when
we were away.
II.
1.
Use the suffixes −ion or −tion to form nuns
from the following verbs. Make the
necessary changes in the spellings of the words.
Example:
proclaim – proclamation
cremate
|
act
|
exhaust
|
invent
|
tempt
|
immigrate
|
direct
|
meditate
|
imagine
|
dislocate
|
associate
|
dedicate
|
Ans:
cremation
|
action
|
exhaustion
|
invention
|
temptation
|
Immigration
|
direction
|
meditation
|
imagination
|
dislocation
|
association
|
dedication
|
(ii) Ramesh is unable
to tackle the situation as he lacks .
(iii) I could
not resist the to open the letter.
(iv) Hardwork and are the main keys
to success.
(v) The children were almost fainting
with after being made to stand in the sun.
(i)
Mass
literacy was possible only after the
invention of the printing machine.
(ii)
Ramesh is unable
to tackle the situation as he lacks
direction.
(iii)
I could not
resist the temptation to open the letter.
(iv)
Hardwork and dedication are the main keys to success.
(v)
The
children were almost
fainting with exhaustion after
being made to stand in the sun.
III. Punctuation
Use capital letter, full
stops, question marks,
commas and inverted commas wherever necessary in the following paragraph.
[ an arrogant lion was
wandering though the jungle one day he asked the tiger who is stronger
than you you O lion
replied the tiger
who is more fierce than a leopard asked the lion you sir replied the
leopard he marched upto an elephant and
asked the same
question the elephant picked him up in his trunk
swung him in the air and threw
him down look said the lion there
is no need to get mad just
because you don’t
know the answer ]
Ans:
An arrogant lion was wandering through the jungle.
One day, he asked
the tiger, “Who is stronger than you?” “You,
O lion!” replied
the tiger. “Who is more fierce
than a leopard?” asked the lion. “You
sir,” replied the leopard. He
marched up to an elephant and asked the same question. The
elephant picked him
up in his trunk, swung
him in the
air,and threw him down. “Look,”
said the lion,
“there is no need to get mad just because you don’t know the
answer.”
Page No: 134
IV. Simple Present Tense
In these sentences words like everyday, often, seldom, never, every
month, generally, usually, etc.
may be used.
1. Fill in the blanks with the correct form of
the verb in brackets.
(i) The heart
is a pump that (send) the
blood circulating through our body.
The pumping action (take place)
when the left ventricle of the heart (contract). This
(force) the blood
out into the arteries, which
(expand) to receive
the oncoming blood.
Ans: The
heart is a pump that sends the blood
circulating through our body. The pumping action
takes
place when the
left ventricle of the
heart contracts.
This forces the blood
out into the arteries, which
expands to receive
the oncoming blood.
(ii) The African
lungfish can live without water
for up to four years. During drought, it (dig) a pit and (enclose) itself in a capsule of slime and earth, leaving
a tiny opening for air.
The capsule (dry) and (harden), but when
rain
(come), the mud (dissolve) and the lungfish (swim) away.
Ans: The African lungfish can live without
water for up to four
years. During drought, it digs a pit and encloses
itself in a capsule of slime and earth, leaving a tiny opening for
air. The capsule
dries and hardens,
but when rain comes, the
mud dissolves and the
lungfish swims away.
(iii)
Mahesh: We have
to organise a class party
for our teacher.
(Do) anyone play
an instrument? Vipul:Rohit (play) the flute.
Mahesh: (Do)
he also act? Vipul: No, he (compose) music. Mahesh:
That’s wonderful!
Ans:
Mahesh: We have
to organise a class party
for our teacher.
Does anyone play an instrument?
Vipul: Rohit plays the flute. Mahesh: Does he also act? Vipul: No, he composes music. Mahesh:
That’s wonderful!
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