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SAI International School
Class IX – English
Chapter- Kathmandu
Lesson notes
About the Author
Vikram Seth CBE, FRSL (born 20 June 1952)
is an Indian novelist and poet. He has
written several novels and poetry books.
He has received several awards such
as Padma Shri, Sahitya Academy
Award, Pravasi Bharatiya Samman, WH
Smith Literary Award and Crossword Book
Award.
Seth's collections of poetry such as Mappings and Beastly Tales are
notable contributions to the Indian English language poetry canon.
“Kathmandu” is an Extract from Vikram Seth‟s travelogue „Heaven
Lake‟ which narrates his long journey from China to India via Tibet
and Nepal via hitch hiking. This story tells us about the author‟s visit
to the capital of Nepal, Kathmandu.
Theme
The theme of this brief extract from Vikram Seth‟s travelogue, „Heaven
Lake‟ is a glimpses of Kathmandu, specially the famous
Pashupatinath temple, sacred to the Hindus, and the Baudhanath
stupa, a holy place for the Buddhists. His experience in the two
temples forms a kind of commentary on the two ways of worship and
the two cultures. Another aspect of Kathmandu that forms the sub
theme is the general environment of this place. The author briefly
discusses the markets, roads etc. of Kathmandu and also adds a few
