NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Beehive Chapter 10 : Kathmandu

In this story, Vikram Seth recalls his memories of his visit to Kathmandu. He first describes two temples. One is the Pashupatinath temple, where only Hindus were allowed to enter. The narrator found the atmosphere confusing. There the priests, tourists, devotees, and animals were roaming. People were pushing one another to make their way to Lord. A group of westerns was trying to enter the temple, but the policemen were not allowing them.

The monkeys were fighting; washerwomen were washing clothes in Bagmati banks, devotees were dropping flowers from their balcony to the river. There was a belief that when the whole of the shrine comes out of the river, the goddess will come outside and end the kalyug period on earth. Another temple was a Buddhist temple, Boudhanath stupa. It was a still place, and the author did not find a huge crowd there. There were small shops on its outer edge, which was owned by Tibetan immigration. Seth described Kathmandu as religious, mercenary, and colourful.

The streets were bustling and noisy. The author finds various fruit sellers, hawkers of postcards, flute sellers, shops of cosmetics, chocolates, etc. Then he came back to his hometown Delhi. He saw a flute seller at the corner of the square near his hotel, and looking at it; he thought that flute was a link between all humanity.