NCERT Solutions for Class 11 English (Hornbill) Chapter 5: Silk Road
Complete solutions for Class 11 English Hornbill prose chapter “Silk Road” by Nick Middleton: an original summary, theme and message, word meanings, and every textbook exercise (Understanding the text, Talking about the text, Thinking about language, Working with words, Noticing form, Things to do) answered fully in exam-ready prose. The questions are reproduced exactly as in the NCERT Hornbill textbook (session 2026–27); the answers are original and expert-checked.
Class: 11Subject: EnglishBook: HornbillType: Prose (Chapter 5)Author: Nick MiddletonSession: 2026–27
Nick Middleton is a British geographer, travel writer and broadcaster who specialises in the physical geography of deserts and remote, often inhospitable, regions of the world. He has taught geography at the University of Oxford and has travelled widely across some of the planet’s harshest landscapes. His writing blends close scientific observation with warm, witty and personal storytelling. “Silk Road” is an extract from his travelogue Extreme Continent, in which he records his overland journey across the Tibetan plateau on a pilgrimage towards Mount Kailash. His style is marked by vivid, picturesque description, gentle humour and a keen eye for the people and wildlife he meets along the way.
Summary
“Silk Road” describes the narrator’s journey from the village of Ravu across the Tibetan plateau towards Mount Kailash, where he hopes to complete the sacred kora (the ritual circuit of the holy mountain). As he leaves, his hostess Lhamo gives him a long-sleeved sheepskin coat as a farewell gift to keep him warm. His driver Tsetan takes a short cut that runs south-west across vast, empty plains, where they pass gazelles, a galloping herd of wild ass (kyang), solitary herdsmen (drokbas) with their flocks, and fierce Tibetan mastiffs that charge at the car.
As the trail climbs into snow-capped mountains, the travellers are repeatedly blocked by snow on the high passes. Tsetan skilfully spreads dirt over the icy patches, drives around obstacles and negotiates the boulder-strewn slopes, taking them safely over the highest pass at 5,515 metres. The narrator suffers from the thin air, developing a throbbing headache during the ascent. They stop for noodles beside a salt lake before reaching the grim, rubbish-strewn town of Hor on the old trade route. There Tsetan has the punctured tyres repaired and then leaves to return to Lhasa.
At Darchen, the narrator spends a frightening, sleepless night because his blocked sinuses and the high altitude make him afraid he might never wake up if he lies down. A Tibetan doctor diagnoses a cold worsened by altitude and gives him a course of Tibetan medicine, after which he sleeps soundly. Darchen, however, is deserted – he has arrived too early in the pilgrimage season and there are no pilgrims. Just as his options seem hopeless, he meets Norbu, a Tibetan academic from Beijing who has also come to do the kora. The two “academics who have escaped from the library” happily decide to team up, restoring the narrator’s positive spirits.
Theme & message
The travelogue celebrates the spirit of adventure, endurance and pilgrimage in one of the world’s most extreme landscapes. It contrasts the breathtaking, austere beauty of the Tibetan plateau with the physical hardships of altitude, cold and isolation, and the bleak, polluted human settlements like Hor. Through the loyal, resourceful Tsetan and the cheerful Norbu, the chapter also highlights the kindness, humour and quiet strength of the hill-folk. The recurring “Silk Road” motif reminds us that these remote routes have for centuries carried trade, ideas, animals and faith across Asia. Above all, the narrative shows how a positive attitude and good companionship help a traveller overcome fear and difficulty.
Word meanings
Word / Phrase
Meaning
flawless
perfect, without any fault
kora
the sacred ritual circuit (walk) around a holy place
drokba
a Tibetan shepherd / nomadic herdsman
kyang
the Tibetan wild ass
manoeuvres
skilful, planned movements
billowed
rose and rolled outward in waves (of dust/cloud)
mastiff
a large, powerful breed of guard dog
swathe
a broad strip or band (here, of snow)
petered out
gradually came to an end
cairn
a heap of stones built as a marker or memorial
festooned
decorated with hanging chains or garlands
careered
moved swiftly and uncontrollably
brackish
slightly salty (water)
vestiges
small remaining traces of something gone
venerated
deeply respected, revered as holy
derelict
abandoned and in a poor, ruined condition
incongruous
out of place; not fitting the surroundings
prostrating
lying flat in worship or submission
nocturnal
happening at night
solitary confinement
(here, humorous) being left alone for a long time
Understanding the text
I. Give reasons for the following statements.
1. The article has been titled ‘Silk Road.’
ANSWERThe narrator travels along the ancient overland routes of the Tibetan plateau that were once part of the great Silk Road network. He follows the old trade route from Lhasa to Kashmir, mentions that Tibetan mastiffs were carried along the Silk Road in ancient times as tribute from Tibet to China’s imperial courts, and jokes that plastic shopping-bag sheeting is one of China’s most successful exports along the Silk Road today. Since the whole journey is set on and around these historic trade routes leading to Mount Kailash, the title ‘Silk Road’ is apt.
2. Tibetan mastiffs were popular in China’s imperial courts.
ANSWERTibetan mastiffs were huge, ferocious and completely fearless dogs that guarded the nomads’ tents and would charge straight at any approaching vehicle “like a bullet from a gun.” Because of their courage, strength and aggressive nature, they made excellent hunting dogs. For these qualities they became prized in China’s imperial courts and were brought there along the Silk Road in ancient times as tribute from Tibet.
3. The author’s experience at Hor was in stark contrast to earlier accounts of the place.
ANSWERHor sat on the shore of Lake Manasarovar, Tibet’s most venerated stretch of water. Earlier travellers had been overwhelmed by the holiness of the lake – the Japanese monk Ekai Kawaguchi (1900) burst into tears, and the unsentimental Swede Sven Hedin was also deeply moved. The author, however, found Hor a grim, miserable place with no vegetation, only dust, rocks and years of accumulated refuse littering the lakeshore. This squalor was the very opposite of the spiritual rapture described in earlier accounts.
4. The author was disappointed with Darchen.
ANSWERThe author was disappointed because Darchen had no pilgrims. He had timed his arrival for the start of the pilgrimage season, but it turned out he was too early. Since he did not want to do the long, snow-prone kora alone and could find no one with enough English to even tell him whether the snow had cleared, his options seemed severely limited. The town itself was also dusty, partly derelict and dotted with heaps of rubble and refuse.
5. The author thought that his positive thinking strategy worked well after all.
ANSWERWhen the author was stuck in deserted Darchen with no companion for the kora, he met Norbu, a Tibetan scholar from Beijing who had also come to do the kora and was looking for a partner. Norbu suggested they form a team – “two academics who have escaped from the library.” This timely, lucky meeting solved the author’s biggest problem, so he felt that his positive-thinking strategy had worked after all.
II. Briefly comment on
1. The purpose of the author’s journey to Mount Kailash.
ANSWERThe author was travelling to Mount Kailash to complete the kora, the sacred ritual circuit on foot around the holy mountain. It was a pilgrimage undertaken not only out of devotion but also out of the author’s spirit of adventure and his fascination with this remote, sacred Himalayan landscape.
2. The author’s physical condition in Darchen.
ANSWERIn Darchen the author’s cold returned and the high altitude made his condition worse. One nostril was blocked and he could not breathe properly when he lay down; his chest felt heavy and he was terrified that if he fell asleep he might never wake up. He stayed awake the whole night and the next morning a Tibetan doctor diagnosed a cold and the effects of altitude, giving him medicine that finally let him sleep soundly.
3. The author’s meeting with Norbu.
ANSWERThe author met Norbu in Darchen’s only cafe. Norbu, a Tibetan working in Beijing at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, noticed the author’s book and struck up a conversation. He too had come to do the kora and proposed they become a team. The meeting was a great relief to the author, though he soon realised Norbu was almost as ill-equipped and unfit for the trek as he was – yet enthusiastic and good company.
4. Tsetan’s support to the author during the journey.
ANSWERTsetan was a skilled, reliable and caring driver. He chose the short-cut route, expertly drove across snow patches by spreading dirt over the ice, negotiated boulder-strewn slopes, fixed punctured tyres, and brought the author safely over the high passes. He also took the author to the Darchen medical college when he fell ill and stayed until he was sure the author would recover, joking that it would be “bad for business” if the author died.
5. “As a Buddhist, he told me, he knew that it didn’t really matter if I passed away, but he thought it would be bad for business.”
ANSWERThis light, humorous remark reveals Tsetan’s blend of faith and practicality. As a Buddhist, he believed in rebirth, so death itself did not frighten him – it “didn’t really matter.” But as a professional driver and guide, the death of a tourist in his care would ruin his reputation and livelihood. The comment shows his easy wit and his genuine, if practical, concern for the author’s safety.
Talking about the text
Discuss in groups of four.
1. The sensitive behaviour of hill-folk.
ANSWERThe hill-folk in the story are warm, considerate and selfless. Lhamo gives the author a sheepskin coat so that he will not feel cold; Tsetan goes out of his way to drive carefully, repair tyres and take the sick author to a doctor; the Tibetan doctor treats him kindly; and Norbu cheerfully offers companionship. Living in harsh, isolated conditions seems to make people more caring towards travellers, valuing human bonds and helping strangers in need.
2. The reasons why people willingly undergo the travails of difficult journeys.
ANSWERPeople undertake hard journeys for many reasons – faith and pilgrimage (like the kora around Mount Kailash), the thrill of adventure and exploration, the desire to test their own endurance, scholarly or scientific curiosity, and the wish to experience the beauty of unspoilt, exotic places. The hardships of altitude, cold and danger are accepted as part of a deeply rewarding personal and spiritual experience.
3. The accounts of exotic places in legends and the reality.
ANSWERLegends and old travellers’ accounts often present exotic places as purely magical or sacred – as the rapturous descriptions of Lake Manasarovar by Kawaguchi and Hedin show. The reality can be very different: the author found the holy lakeside town of Hor grimy, polluted and depressing. The lesson is that romantic legend and lived reality may not match, yet both have value – the legend inspires the journey, while the reality teaches and humbles the traveller.
Thinking about language
1. Notice the kind of English Tsetan uses while talking to the author. How do you think he picked it up?
ANSWERTsetan speaks simple, broken English with the polite tag “sir” and short, incomplete sentences, e.g. “Not knowing, sir, until we get there,” “Not good, sir,” and “Maybe, sir, but no smoking.” He most likely picked it up informally through his work – by guiding and driving English-speaking tourists and travellers over the years, rather than through any formal schooling.
2. What do the following utterances indicate?
(i) “I told her, through Daniel …”(ii) “It’s a cold,” he said finally through Tsetan.
ANSWER(i) The author did not share a common language with Lhamo, so he communicated with her with Daniel acting as an interpreter (translator).(ii) Similarly, the Tibetan doctor and the author had no common language, so Tsetan translated the doctor’s diagnosis for the author. Both utterances indicate that the author needed interpreters to communicate with the local people.
3. Guess the meaning of the following words. kora drokba kyang In which language are these words found?
ANSWERkora – the sacred ritual circumambulation (walk) around a holy mountain or place.drokba – a Tibetan nomadic shepherd / herdsman.kyang – the Tibetan wild ass.These words are found in the Tibetan language.
Working with words
1. The narrative has many phrases to describe the scenic beauty of the mountainside like: A flawless half-moon floated in a perfect blue sky. Scan the text to locate other such picturesque phrases.
ANSWER – sample picturesque phrases• “Extended banks of cloud like long French loaves glowed pink as the sun emerged…”• “…to splash the distant mountain tops with a rose-tinted blush.”• “Plumes of dust billowed into the crisp, clean air.”• “…the river was wide and mostly clogged with ice, brilliant white and glinting in the sunshine.”• “…big rocks daubed with patches of bright orange lichen.”• “…a large cairn of rocks festooned with white silk scarves and ragged prayer flags.”• “…a huge, snow-capped mountain, Gurla Mandhata, with just a wisp of cloud suspended over its summit.”
2. Explain the use of the adjectives in the following phrases.
Phrase
Use of the adjective
(i) shaggy monsters
“shaggy” describes the Tibetan mastiffs’ long, thick, rough, untidy hair, picturing them as huge, wild-looking beasts.
(ii) brackish lakes
“brackish” means slightly salty; it tells us the plateau lakes contained salty water, the vestiges of the ancient Tethys Ocean.
(iii) rickety table
“rickety” means shaky and unsteady, suggesting the poor, broken-down furniture of the small cafe.
(iv) hairpin bend
“hairpin” describes a very sharp, U-shaped curve in the mountain road, as tight as the bend of a hairpin.
(v) rudimentary general stores
“rudimentary” means basic and undeveloped, showing that Darchen’s shops stocked only the simplest, most essential goods.
Noticing form
1. The account has only a few passive voice sentences. Locate them. In what way does the use of active voice contribute to the style of the narrative.
ANSWERSample passive-voice sentences: “It was marked by a large cairn of rocks…”; “The plateau is pockmarked with salt flats and brackish lakes…”; “I was served by a Chinese youth in military uniform…”; “…the second tyre he’d changed had been replaced by one that was as smooth as my bald head.”Effect of the active voice: The narrative is told mostly in the active voice, which keeps the people (the author, Tsetan, Daniel, Norbu) and their actions at the centre. This makes the writing direct, lively, fast-moving and personal, like a first-hand eyewitness account, drawing the reader straight into the journey and its events.
2. Notice this construction: Tsetan was eager to have them fixed. Write five sentences with a similar structure.
ANSWER – sample sentences (have / get + object + past participle)1. She was anxious to have her documents verified before the interview.2. We need to get the car serviced before the long trip.3. He was keen to have his photograph taken at the summit.4. They wanted to get the house painted before the festival.5. I must have my watch repaired this week.
Things to do
“The plateau is pockmarked with salt flats and brackish lakes, vestiges of the Tethys Ocean which bordered Tibet before the continental collision that lifted it skyward.” Read the given extract on the Tethys Ocean and find out more by searching online or in an encyclopedia.
ANSWER – what you will learnThe Tethys Ocean was a vast ancient sea that once separated the supercontinents of Laurasia (in the north) and Gondwana (in the south). The region now covered by India, Indonesia and the Indian Ocean was once occupied by the Tethys. As the Indian continental plate drifted north and collided with the Asian landmass (Cimmeria and Laurasia), the sea floor was pushed up, forming the Himalayas and the Tibetan plateau – which is why salty lakes and salt flats remain there today. Geologists like Eduard Suess proved the ocean’s former existence by finding fossils of sea creatures in Himalayan rocks. A similar process, the northward push of Africa, raised the Alps in Europe.This is a research/internet activity – expand the note above with details from an encyclopedia or a reliable website.
Extra questions
Short answer (30–40 words)
1. What farewell gift did Lhamo give the author, and why?
ANSWERLhamo gave the author one of the long-sleeved sheepskin coats that all the local men wore. She gave it because the author was heading to Mount Kailash in cold conditions and needed warmer clothing for the journey.
2. How did Tsetan get the car safely across the first snow patch?
ANSWERTsetan grabbed handfuls of dirt and flung them across the frozen snow. He and Daniel spread soil over the icy surface to give the tyres grip, then he eased the car on to the snow and slowly drove its length without difficulty.
3. Why did the author have to stay awake all night in Darchen?
ANSWERHis blocked nose and the high altitude meant that whenever he lay down his sinuses filled and his chest felt heavy. He was afraid that if he fell asleep he might never wake up, so he forced himself to stay awake the whole night.
4. What did the author find at the top of the highest pass (5,515 m)?
ANSWERAt the top he found a large cairn of rocks festooned with white silk scarves and ragged prayer flags. Following tradition, they all walked round the cairn in a clockwise direction, and Tsetan checked his vehicle’s tyres.
5. Why was Lake Manasarovar important in Hindu and Buddhist cosmology?
ANSWERAncient Hindu and Buddhist cosmology regards Manasarovar as the source of four great Indian rivers – the Indus, the Ganges, the Sutlej and the Brahmaputra – making it Tibet’s most venerated stretch of water, though in fact only the Sutlej actually flows from the lake.
Long answer (100–120 words)
6. Describe the various difficulties the author faced during his journey across the Tibetan plateau.
ANSWERThe author faced both physical and emotional difficulties. On the high mountain passes the route was repeatedly blocked by snow, and the steep, boulder-strewn slopes made driving dangerous. The thin air of the high altitude gave him a throbbing headache during the ascent past 5,400 metres. The car suffered two punctures in quick succession near the salt lake. At Darchen, his cold worsened with the altitude, his nose blocked, his chest felt heavy, and his fear of dying in his sleep kept him awake all night. He was also disheartened to find Darchen deserted, with no pilgrims and no English-speaker to guide him. Tsetan’s driving skill, a Tibetan doctor’s medicine, and finally meeting Norbu helped him overcome these hardships.
7. Compare the characters of Tsetan and Norbu and their roles in the narrative.
ANSWERTsetan and Norbu both help the author, but in different ways. Tsetan is the practical, experienced driver-guide: skilful, calm and resourceful, he conquers snow, rocks and punctures, speaks simple English, and looks after the sick author by taking him to a doctor, all while keeping his dry sense of humour. He represents the dependable, hardy hill-folk. Norbu, by contrast, is an educated Tibetan scholar from Beijing – cheerful, enthusiastic but unfit and ill-equipped for the trek, and not really a practising Buddhist. He becomes the author’s welcome companion for the kora. Together they show two faces of Tibet – the rugged local guide and the modern, urbanised intellectual – both warm and supportive towards the traveller.
8. How does Nick Middleton bring out both the beauty and the harshness of the Tibetan landscape?
ANSWERMiddleton balances beauty and harshness throughout the travelogue. He paints the beauty with picturesque images – a flawless half-moon in a perfect blue sky, clouds like French loaves glowing pink, snow-capped peaks, ice glinting in the sunshine, and a cairn festooned with silk scarves and prayer flags. Against this he sets the harshness: snow-blocked passes, dangerous icy slopes, fierce mastiffs, lung-straining altitude, and the grim, rubbish-strewn town of Hor on the shore of holy Lake Manasarovar. By moving between rapturous description and grim reality – and adding gentle humour – he gives a vivid, honest picture of the plateau as a place both awe-inspiring and unforgiving.
MCQs & Assertion–Reason
1. Who is the author of ‘Silk Road’?
(a) Jayant Narlikar (b) Nick Middleton (c) A.R. Williams (d) Khushwant Singh
2. The narrator was travelling to Mount Kailash to complete the:
(a) Silk Road (b) kora (c) Tethys (d) drokba
3. What farewell gift did Lhamo give the author?
(a) prayer flags (b) a sheepskin coat (c) a thermos of tea (d) a novel
4. ‘Kyang’ refers to:
(a) a Tibetan shepherd (b) the wild ass (c) a mastiff (d) a salt lake
5. At what height was the highest pass the travellers crossed?
Assertion–Reason – choose: (a) A and R true, R explains A; (b) A and R true, R does not explain A; (c) A true, R false; (d) A false, R true.
1. Assertion (A): Lhamo gave the author a sheepskin coat.
Reason (R): The author was heading towards Mount Kailash and needed warmer clothes for the cold.
2. Assertion (A): Tsetan spread dirt over the snow on the track.
Reason (R): The icy top layer of the snow was dangerous and could make the car slip and turn over.
3. Assertion (A): The author found Hor a beautiful and uplifting place.
Reason (R): Earlier travellers like Kawaguchi and Hedin were deeply moved by Lake Manasarovar.
4. Assertion (A): The author stayed awake all night in Darchen.
Reason (R): He feared that if he fell asleep with his blocked breathing he might never wake up.
5. Assertion (A): The author felt his positive-thinking strategy had worked after all.
Reason (R): He met Norbu, who agreed to be his companion for the kora.
Answer key: 1-(a) 2-(a) 3-(d) 4-(a) 5-(a) Note for 3: A is false (the author found Hor grim and miserable); R is true.
Exam tips
Score full marks in ‘Silk Road’
• Remember the key place-names and figures in order: Ravu → salt lake → Hor (Lake Manasarovar) → Darchen, and the heights 5,210 m, 5,400 m and 5,515 m.
• Learn the Tibetan words and their meanings – kora (sacred circuit), drokba (herdsman), kyang (wild ass).
• In ‘Give reasons’ answers, always start with the statement and then quote one supporting detail from the text.
• For value-based questions, highlight Tsetan’s resourcefulness, the hill-folk’s kindness and the role of positive thinking.
• Quote short picturesque phrases to show appreciation of the author’s descriptive style.
FAQs
Who wrote ‘Silk Road’ and from which book is it taken?
It is written by Nick Middleton and is an extract from his travelogue Extreme Continent, included in the NCERT Class 11 English Hornbill textbook.
What is the ‘kora’ in the chapter ‘Silk Road’?
The kora is the sacred ritual circuit (walk) that pilgrims make around the holy Mount Kailash; completing it was the purpose of the author’s journey.
Why was the author disappointed at Darchen?
He had arrived too early in the pilgrimage season, so there were no pilgrims and no companion for the kora, until he luckily met Norbu.
Questions are taken verbatim from the NCERT Hornbill textbook; the summary, word meanings and answers are written originally by ClearStudy.
