SUMMARY OF THE LESSON
‘Kathmandu’ is a collection of memories of a visit to this city by Vikram Seth. He visits the famous Pashupatinath temple where a febrile confusing atmosphere remains outside. Priests, hawkers, devotees, tourists, cows, monkeys, pigeons, and dogs roam through the grounds. When a princess of the Nepalese royal house appears; everyone bows and makes way. Non-Hindu people are not allowed to enter some temples until policemen are convinced. A fight breaks out between two monkeys. One chases the other, who jumps onto a Shivalinga, then runs screaming around the temples and down to the river, the holy Bhagmati, that flows below. Many religious ceremonies are performed on the banks of this river. Kathmandu is a vivid, mercenary, and religious place with small shrines. There are fruit sellers, flute sellers, hawkers of postcards; shops selling Western cosmetics, film rolls and chocolates, copper utensils, etc.
Now the author makes up his mind to return his home. Therefore, he goes to the Nepal Airlines Office and buys a ticket for Delhi. The author looked at the flute seller standing in a corner of the square near the hotel. These flutes are made of bamboo. The flute seller selects a flute and plays for a few minutes. This sound of the flute rises clearly above the noise of the traffic and the hawkers’ cries. The author finds it very difficult to tear himself away from the square. Flute music always does this to him.
There is no culture that does not have its flute — the reed neh, the recorder, the Japanese Shakuhachi, the deep bansuri of Hindustani classical music, etc. The flute is a common musical instrument. It is found in almost every culture and it strengthens the cultural relationship among us.
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