Kathmandu story summary

Vikram Seth has narrated his journey to Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, through an excerpt from his book 'Heaven Lake'. During his visit, he visited two temples where the notice creates differences between them. A temple was a pilgrimage for the Hindus, the Pashupatinath temple.

After that, there was the Buddhist temple which is for Buddhists. He notices that he restricted entry into the Pashupatinath temple for Hindus only. Thus, there was considerable chaos among tourists, priests and pilgrims. To accomplish all this, people were polluting the Bagmati river by washing clothes in it, bathing in it and throwing dried flowers in it.

After that, he went to the Boudhanath temple. He saw that the landscape here was completely different from what he saw in the Pashupatinath temple. This Buddhist temple had a huge dome which is white in color. The place was very quiet and serene. Outside the temple, there was a Tibetan market and people were selling bags, clothes, jewelry and more.

He took note of many things ranging from religious places of Kathmandu to many tourist places. Apart from this, it also houses various shops of antiques, cameras, cosmetics, chocolates and more. However, it is also a noisy city for music and vendors from Car Horn. He enjoyed corn, Coca-Cola, a marzipan bar in the city. After that, he also read love stories, comics and Reader's Digest books.

On his return to Delhi, he thought of adopting an adventurous route, which included a bus or train journey and then a boat ride, but he had exhausted the idea. Thus, he booked a flight back. He noticed an interesting flute seller outside his hotel. He had a pole with a lot of flutes on it and looked like a porcupine body.

The flute seller used to play his flute and did the same to various tunes. But, being different from other flute sellers, he played the flute thoughtfully. He didn't shout to attract customers, he played it. This attracted the writer and he thought that the flute is very common everywhere. Then, he compares it to the human voice and says how he is now looking at even the smallest things.

The author, Vikram Seth traveled from China to India via Tibet and Nepal. On reaching Kathmandu, he rented a cheap room in a hotel and slept for hours. The next morning, along with one Mr. Shah and his nephew, he visits two temples in Kathmandu — the Hindu temple of Pashupatinath and the Bodhan temple, the Bodhanath Stupa.

The author first goes to the Pashupatinath temple, where the right of entry is reserved for Hindus alone. The atmosphere there is of 'feudal illusion' and people (priests, hawkers, devotees, tourists) and animals (cows, monkeys, pigeons and dogs) roam the grounds. People joke with each other to get the priest's attention. The crowd makes way with the entry of the Nepali princess. Outside, Westerners continue to argue with policemen for entering the temple, claiming to be Hindus. Priests, devotees, hawkers, dogs, pigeons, tourists - all get together to add to the confusion.

Two monkeys run from each other over a Shivling towards the holy river Bagmati. A corpse is being cremated on the banks of the river, the washerman is washing clothes and children are bathing in the river. Wilted flowers and old offerings were thrown into the river, polluting the river. A small temple is half-spread by a stone platform on the banks of the river. Legend says that when it emerges completely, the goddess inside will survive, and the evil period of Kali Yuga will end on earth.

Unlike the noisy activity in the Hindu temple, Seth finds peace, tranquility and peace in the Boudnath Stupa. The Boudnath Stupa is a quiet, still place, its white dome surrounded by a road. There are small shops on the outer side of the road owned by Tibetan immigrants. There are no crowds inside the temple. Calm and calm. It is a safe haven for restlessness amidst busy roads.

After visiting the temples, the author wanders the streets of Kathmandu and finds it a busy city. Seth chose adjectives, commercial and religious adjectives to describe Kathmandu. He finds that its narrow streets are busy and make a lot of noise. The streets are crowded with fruit vendors, postcard hawkers, etc. The shops sell western cosmetics, film rolls and chocolate; Or copper utensils and Nepalese antiques. There is noise in the city of radio, radio horn awarded, ringing of bicycle bells, stray cows being lowered and filmed by vendors shouting their wares.

Exhausted and homic, the author decides to return home. He buys an airline ticket and returns to his hotel.

Near his hotel he hears the sweet voice of a flute seller. The flute seller plays effortlessly and sells his flute carelessly without any conscious effort. The flute captivates him and he remembers that there is no culture in which he does not have a flute - reed ki neh, recorder, Japanese shakuhachi, deep flute of Hindustani classical music, South American flute and high-pitched Chinese flute.

He is amazed at himself for noticing such details of these musical instruments which he had not done before. Flute music leaves a deep impression on his mind and takes him with him when he returns home.