Class 12 English Unit 11: Hobbies Reading: On Walking by Sristi Bhattarai

 

Unit 11: Hobbies Reading: On Walking by Sristi Bhattarai

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vZy-gqdXoo

Reflection of the Essay

Walking improves the body movement and the functions of our sense organs. The writer was able to walk a long distance in her young age. She had an experience of walking the village road in the slope areas. Walking became more social activity at her life as she used to walk to school with her friends. After leaving the school, walking helped her to find the new places. She even visited the residential areas, Norton Street that was lined with cafes and restaurants. The walking navigated his past life and renewed the way of his life. Therefore, walking was both an escape and a search for a pace and a rhythm.

Australian streets were far quitter and organized than the streets found in Kathmandu. Dismal had a tiny park that was down the road. It was a good place between the harsh and noisy highway. The writer often walks along the Sydney street from morning to late evening. She used to walk for an hour along Parramatta road to get to Sydney University. Every item has become her friends as she passes from that street. Walking became a conversation for her physical as well as natural world. She spent her time in Minneapolis lonely because of the language she could not understand. On Sundays morning, the writer did not meet anybody on the way while walking. Sometimes, she talked the old building made at riverside of Mississippi river and sometime about a deer seen in the mid of the park by the river. Being a new person in the city, the writer never felt uneasy in walking into the buildings. Every time she was driven along highway seeing the uninhabited place, she recalled other places as an old and ancient place. Walking makes us aware of space that may be invisible. The writer loves these places she would visit, may be not the people and their culture but the trees, ways, sky etc. walking bought her close places, pointed the things around her.

Ultimately no matter where she went the air that brushed against her and the light that poured into her eyes each morning, the sounds of birds and insects, or machines were the same everywhere. It may sound ironic but walking kept her close to her roots and gave her a sense of grounding.

Working with words

A.   Find the words from the text which have the following meanings.

a.      a wave-like motion – undulation

b.     to make or do something again exactly in the same way – replicated

c.  decayed, deteriorated, or fallen into partial ruin especially through neglect or misuse- dilapidated 

d.     a bright, smooth surface – sheen

e.      the feeling of having no energy and enthusiasm – listlessness

f.       a state of noise, commotion and confusion – cacophonous

g.     being alone, often by choice – solitude

h.     to regard with respect, often tinged with awe – revere

i.       said in a way that is not direct, so that the real meaning is not immediately clear – obliquely

B.    Find the meaning of the following words from a dictionary.

sophisticated – well-designed or refined                      conscious – sensible

blistering – burning                                                      proximity - nearness

invisible – cannot be seen

Comprehension

Answer the following questions.

a.      What is the author’s favourite hobby? Why does she like it so much?

The author’s favourite hobby is walking. She likes it so much because the movement, the rhythm, the undulation of the senses and of the body it initiates is enjoyable.

b.     What sorts of roads did the writer prefer to walk on when she was very young?

The writer preferred to walk on the roads that were unpaved and uneven, like the paths around her mamaghar when she was very young.

c.      How did walking give the author and her classmates a sense of freedom?

Walking gave the author and her classmates a sense of freedom because they could be free-willed masters of their time and could find their own way.

d.     In what ways were the roads in Kathmandu different from the ones in Sydney?

The roads in Sydney were far quieter and organized when compared to the crowded streets of Kathmandu.

e.      How did walking help the author in the new country?

Walking was an escape of all kinds of pressures, a search for pace and a rhythm to the author. It helped her to navigate the new country and it renewed the circumstances of her life.

f.       What were the treasures of Petersham, where the writer lived with her family?

The treasures of Petersham, where the writer lived with her family were a tiny park which was a minute down the Parramatta road, another park with a huge rock at one end, a buffer zone suburb etc.

g.     What things became her permanent friends with whom she could share her feelings?

The components of nature such as the earth, the sky, the trees, water, air became her permanent friends with whom she could share her feelings.

h.     Why did she feel that she had traveled to ‘a desert, to emptiness’ as she went to the United States?

She felt that she had traveled to ‘a desert, to emptiness’ as she went to the United States because people living there were running after material pursuit and comfort because of which she felt lonely and a barrier of communication with them.

i.       Why did the author eventually feel that the strange city was known to her?

Eventually the author felt that the strange city was known to her because she found the place similar to every other place on the earth. The essence of the nature she felt in the strange city was same to the one she found in her hometown.

j.       How did walking make her feel at home with different places she visited?

Walking made her feel thankfulness to all the streets she walked on because they gave shape to her feet, her body and her being.

 

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