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aesthetic remarks about the musical instrument, flute after listening
to a flute seller playing the musical instrument.

Justification of the Title

The title Kathmandu does not specify what the author is going to

state about the capital city of Nepal. However as we know that it is the
narration of a part of a journey that the writer Vikram Seth undertook
from „Heaven Lake‟ in China to India, we expect to know more about

Kathmandu. Still, with the author‟s main focus on the two temples and
a brief description regarding his general impression about
Kathmandu, this title stands justified. The contents of the chapter,

although not as descriptive as suggested by the title, still make the
title apt as it signifies the main objective of the writer.

Message

Although the extract is a part of a travelogue and the narration of the
experiences of the author in Kathmandu without any apparent

message, still it has deeper layers of meaning. The author
disapproves of the noise and confusion in the Hindu temple and
admires the serenity reigning supreme in the Buddhist temple. He

also reveals how we thoughtlessly pollute our rivers washing clothes
on its banks, cremating corpses and dumping rubbish in them. The
extract conveys the message that the purity and serenity of the holy

places must be maintained.

Kathmandu Summary in English (Detailed)

Vikram Seth describes his visit to the capital of Nepal, Kathmandu
through this excerpt from his book „Heaven Lake‟. During his trip, he
visits two temples where he notices stark differences between them.

One temple was a pilgrimage for Hindus, the Pashupatinath temple.

After that, there was the Baudhnath temple which is for the

Buddhists. He notices that they restricted the entry at the
Pashupatinath temple to only Hindus. Thus, there was quite a chaos
amongst the tourists, priests and the pilgrims. To top it all, people