“Kathmandu” is a travel essay written by Vikram Seth, taken from his travelogue From Heaven Lake: Travels through Sinkiang and Tibet. It is the 10th chapter of the ASSEB Class 9 English textbook Beehive. In this essay, the author describes his experiences in Kathmandu, Nepal — visiting famous temples, wandering through busy streets, observing local life, and being moved by the music of a flute seller. The chapter beautifully captures the sights, sounds, and spirit of Kathmandu as the author prepares to return home to India.
Summary of Kathmandu
The essay begins with the author, Vikram Seth, visiting two famous temples in Kathmandu — the Hindu Pashupatinath Temple and the Buddhist Baudhnath Stupa. He is accompanied by Mr. Shah’s son and nephew. At the entrance of Pashupatinath temple, a signboard reads “Entrance for Hindus only.” The atmosphere inside the temple is one of febrile (feverish) confusion — priests, hawkers, tourists, and worshippers all jostle with each other. Monkeys fight, jump onto the Shivalinga, and run around the temple compound. A Nepalese princess arrives and everyone bows to make way for her. Saffron-clad Western tourists try to enter the temple but are stopped by a policeman who does not believe they are Hindus. The Bagmati river — sacred but polluted — flows nearby. On its banks, the author sees washerwomen doing laundry, children bathing, a corpse being cremated, and wilted flowers floating away. Locals believe that a small shrine partially submerged in the river will one day fully emerge, and when that happens the goddess inside will escape, bringing the evil age of Kaliyug to an end.
In contrast to the chaos of Pashupatinath, the Baudhnath Stupa is peaceful and serene. The immense white dome is surrounded by a quiet circular road. Tibetan immigrants run small shops selling thangkas (religious paintings), Tibetan artifacts, and jewellery. The stillness around the stupa offers the author a sense of calm.
Later, the author wanders through Kathmandu’s busiest streets. He describes them as “vivid, mercenary and religious.” Small shrines and flower-adorned deities stand beside shops selling Western cosmetics, film rolls, chocolates, copper utensils, and Nepalese antiques. Fruit sellers and postcard hawkers line the streets. Sounds fill the air — Hindi film songs blaring from radios, car horns, bicycle bells, vendors shouting their wares, and the lowing of stray cows. The author eats roasted corn-on-the-cob, marzipan, and washes it all down with Coca-Cola. He also browses through love-story comics and Reader’s Digest.
As the author prepares to return to Delhi, he contemplates two routes — a longer, more adventurous route through Patna, Benaras, Allahabad, Agra, and finally Delhi; and a direct flight. Tired and homesick, he chooses the quicker route and books a flight on Nepal Airlines.
In a square near his hotel, the author notices a flute seller. Unlike other hawkers who shout to attract customers, the flute seller plays softly and meditatively. He holds a pole from which fifty or sixty bamboo flutes protrude in all directions — like the quills of a porcupine. The author is deeply moved by the music. He thinks of the many kinds of flutes across the world — the reed neh, the Japanese shakuhachi, the Hindustani bansuri, the South American flutes, the Chinese flutes — and reflects that “to hear any flute is to be drawn into the commonality of all mankind.” The essay ends on this philosophical note, with the author tearing himself away from the music and heading home.
Thinking about the Text
I. Answer these questions in one or two words or in short phrases.
Q1. Name the two temples the author visited in Kathmandu.
Answer: The two temples the author visited in Kathmandu were the Pashupatinath Temple (a Hindu temple) and the Baudhnath Stupa (a Buddhist shrine).
Q2. What does “all this” refer to when he washes it down with Coca-Cola?
Answer: “All this” refers to the various things the author ate and did near the bazaar streets — eating a bar of marzipan, a roasted corn-on-the-cob rubbed with salt, chilli powder and lemon, and reading a couple of love-story comics and a Reader’s Digest — all of which he washed down with Coca-Cola.
Q3. What does Vikram Seth compare to the quills of a porcupine?
Answer: Vikram Seth compares the fifty or sixty bamboo flutes protruding in all directions from the pole of the flute seller to the quills of a porcupine.
Q4. Name five kinds of flutes mentioned in the text.
Answer: The five kinds of flutes mentioned in the text are:
- The reed neh
- The Japanese shakuhachi
- The deep bansuri of Hindustani classical music
- The clear or breathy flutes of South America
- The high-pitched flutes of China
II. Discuss these questions in class with your teacher and then write the answers in your notebook.
Q1. How is the flute seller different from the other hawkers?
Answer: The flute seller is very different from other hawkers in his approach and manner. While other vendors loudly cry out their wares, aggressively trying to attract buyers, the flute seller does not shout at all. He simply picks up one of his bamboo flutes and plays slowly and meditatively. He makes a sale in a curiously offhanded way, as if selling was incidental to his true purpose of making music. The author is so captivated by his quiet music rising above the noise of the street that he finds it hard to tear himself away.
Q2. What does the author think is the belief of the local people about the shrine in the Bagmati river?
Answer: Near Pashupatinath temple, the Bagmati river flows with a small shrine partially submerged in it. The local people believe that this shrine is slowly emerging from the water. According to their belief, when the shrine fully emerges, the goddess inside it will escape. When that happens, the evil age of Kaliyug — the current age of darkness, sin, and moral decline — will come to an end on earth.
Q3. Give three examples each of the “febrile confusion” at Pashupatinath, things that are “vivid” in the street, and the sounds the author hears.
Three examples of “febrile confusion” at Pashupatinath temple:
- Worshippers jostle and elbow each other to get the priest’s attention.
- Monkeys fight, chase each other, and one jumps onto the Shivalinga.
- Saffron-clad Western tourists try to enter the temple but are stopped by a policeman.
Three things that are “vivid” in the street:
- Small shrines and flower-adorned deities beside shops selling cosmetics, chocolates, and antiques.
- Fruit sellers, flute sellers, and hawkers of postcards lining the narrow lanes.
- Roaming stray cows and a general atmosphere mixing the religious and the commercial.
Three sounds the author hears:
- Hindi film songs blaring from radios.
- Car horns and bicycle bells.
- Vendors shouting their wares and stray cows lowing.
III. Answer these questions in 100–150 words.
Q1. What are the things that the author sees at the Pashupatinath and Baudhnath temples? How does the atmosphere at the two temples differ?
Answer: At the Pashupatinath temple, the author sees an entrance signboard reading “Entrance for Hindus only.” Inside, there is utter confusion — priests performing rituals, hawkers selling offerings, tourists clicking photographs, and worshippers elbowing each other. Monkeys fight and jump around, even onto the Shivalinga. A Nepalese princess arrives and everyone bows for her. Saffron-clad Westerners are turned away by a policeman. The Bagmati river flows nearby where washerwomen do laundry, children bathe, and a corpse is cremated.
At the Baudhnath Stupa, the scene is completely different. The immense white dome exudes a sense of calm and stillness. A quiet road circles it. Tibetan shops sell thangkas and jewellery. There are far fewer people and the atmosphere is peaceful and meditative. In short, Pashupatinath is characterized by febrile confusion, while Baudhnath is a haven of quietness.
Q2. Why does the author say that the flute is “the most universal and the most particular of instruments”?
Answer: The author calls the flute “the most universal and the most particular of instruments” because it is found in every culture and civilization across the world (making it universal), yet each cultural version of the flute has its own distinct sound and character (making it particular). Every tradition — Indian, Japanese, Chinese, South American, Middle Eastern — has its own unique flute. The music inspires the author to reflect that “to hear any flute is to be drawn into the commonality of all mankind.” The flute, powered by human breath alone, connects people across cultures and centuries.
Thinking about Language
I. Phrasal Verbs with “break”
| Phrasal Verb | Meaning |
|---|---|
| break out | to start suddenly (usually a conflict, fire, or disease) |
| break off | to come apart or be removed by force |
| break down | to stop working (of a machine or vehicle) |
| break away | to escape from someone’s grip or control |
| break up | to end a relationship |
| break into | to enter a place illegally by force |
II. Noun Formation with “-ion” / “-tion”
| Verb | Noun |
|---|---|
| cremate | cremation |
| act | action |
| exhaust | exhaustion |
| invent | invention |
| tempt | temptation |
| immigrate | immigration |
| direct | direction |
| meditate | meditation |
| imagine | imagination |
| dedicate | dedication |
Additional Questions
Q1. Who wrote “Kathmandu” and from which book is it taken?
Answer: “Kathmandu” is written by Vikram Seth. It is taken from his travelogue From Heaven Lake: Travels through Sinkiang and Tibet, in which he describes his overland journey from China to India through Tibet and Nepal.
Q2. What is written on the signboard at the entrance of Pashupatinath temple?
Answer: The signboard at the entrance reads “Entrance for Hindus only.” This sign is put up to protect the sanctity of the temple and to prevent non-Hindus from disturbing the religious atmosphere of this highly sacred shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva.
Q3. Why did the author choose to fly back to Delhi instead of taking the longer route?
Answer: The author had initially thought of taking a longer, more adventurous route back to Delhi — travelling by road to Patna, then by boat down the Ganges to Allahabad, up the Yamuna to Agra, and then on to Delhi. However, he was feeling tired and homesick, so he decided to book a direct flight on Nepal Airlines back to Delhi.
Q4. What does the author mean when he says the flute music draws him into “the commonality of all mankind”?
Answer: The author means that the music of the flute has a universal human appeal that transcends boundaries of culture, language, and geography. Every civilization has its own flute — from India’s bansuri to Japan’s shakuhachi to China’s dizi — and all of them produce music that speaks to something deeply human. When you hear a flute anywhere in the world, you are connected to this shared human tradition and emotion.
Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ)
Q1. “Kathmandu” is written by:
(a) Ruskin Bond (b) Vikram Seth (c) R.K. Narayan (d) Khushwant Singh
Answer: (b) Vikram Seth
Q2. The chapter “Kathmandu” is taken from:
(a) A Suitable Boy (b) The Golden Gate (c) From Heaven Lake (d) An Equal Music
Answer: (c) From Heaven Lake
Q3. Which two temples did the author visit in Kathmandu?
(a) Swayambhunath and Baudhnath (b) Pashupatinath and Baudhnath (c) Pashupatinath and Swayambhunath (d) Muktinath and Baudhnath
Answer: (b) Pashupatinath and Baudhnath
Q4. The author compares the flutes on the seller’s pole to:
(a) Needles of a cactus (b) Quills of a porcupine (c) Spines of a hedgehog (d) Bristles of a brush
Answer: (b) Quills of a porcupine
Q5. How did the author travel back to Delhi from Kathmandu?
(a) By bus (b) By train (c) By Nepal Airlines flight (d) By road through Patna
Answer: (c) By Nepal Airlines flight
Q6. The word “febrile” in the text means:
(a) Peaceful and calm (b) Feverish and intensely active (c) Religious and sacred (d) Ancient and historical
Answer: (b) Feverish and intensely active