India is a holy land with many temples. Based on your reading of the story, write a paragraph describing your visit to a temple.
Visiting a Temple – Akshar Dham
Recently I visited the Akshar Dham temple. It is a new temple built and opened in 2005 for the public. I went there on a family trip. We all reached the temple at 6 a.m. by car. We parked the car in the park and went to the temple barefoot. We had the necessary things like lamp, vermilion, flowers coconut etc. decorated in a large plate. We entered the temple and were surprised to find people everywhere. There were countless heads as far as we could see. Surprisingly, there wasn’t any jostling up or elbowing aside taking place. Everyone was singing the holy mantras. We also followed them. It didn’t take us long to reach the idol of Shri Narayana Swami. We wondered about the temple to see the marvelous architecture and the great congregation of all religions. There wasn’t any confusion in or around the temple. Therefore the peace, the sacred feeling and the impressive idols together gave it a divine touch. I felt really great to be in such an environment.
(a) What is the atmosphere inside the Buddhist shrine?
(b) Where do the small shops stand?
(c) What do you understand by ‘a haven of quietness’?
(a) There is a peaceful atmosphere inside the Buddhist shrine.
(b) The small shops stand on the outer edge of the road that encircles the white dome of the shrine.
(c) It means a safe place where one can find peace.
(a) What kind of atmosphere prevails outside the Pashupatinath temple, and why?
(b) What happens when a princess of the Nepalese royal house appears there?
(c) Find out the words /phrases from the passage which mean the same as the following:
(i) make known publicly. (ii) complete chaos.
(a) There is an atmosphere of utter confusion outside the Pashupatinath temple because there is a huge crowd.
(b) When a princess of the Nepalese royal house appears there, people bow and make way for her.
(c) (i) proclaim.
(ii) febrile confusion.
(a) What type of place is Kathmandu, according to the writer?
(b) Mention some of the things that one can buy in Kathmandu bazar.
(c) Find a word from the passage which means ‘clear’.
(a) According to the writer, Kathmandu is a vivid, mercenary and religious place.
(b) In Kathmandu bazar, one can buy postcards, cosmetics, film rolls, chocolates, copper utensils and Nepalese antiques.
(c) vivid.
(i) Who fights at the temple and how?
(ii) How is the river Bagmati used by the people there?
(iii) Find the words from the passage which mean the same as –
(a) dried, (b) emerges.
(i) Two monkeys fight at the temple. They chase one another, jump onto the Shivlinga, run around the temples and down to the river.
(ii) The people used the banks of the holy river Bagmati to cremate the dead bodies. Washerwomen wash the clothes here and children bathe. Old, dried flowers are also dropped into the river.
(iii) (a) dried — wilted.
(b) emerges — protrudes.
Switch
