Life on Water: Dal Lake - Srinagar
Living on a Houseboat on Dal Lake is a lifetime experience. Well decorated and appointed with the traditional Kashmiri wooden handcrafted furnitures, the famous Kashmiri carpet on the floor, every room on the houseboat is almost like a treausre trove of Kashmiri art and craft. Living on the placid waters of Dal Lake facing the Zabarwan hills and over looked by Shakaracharya temple on the hilltop is a must do for every vistor to the Kashmir Valley. Though there are many hotels flanking the boulevard by the Dal, at least a night spent on houseboat is must do thing while in Srinagar. The experience of living on water comes studded with the excellent hospitality of the boatmen who go to the length to provide the best of hospitality, courtesy and experience. Not to forget the made to cook Kashmiri Wazwan cuisine which may be served on order.
Each Hosueboat usually has 3-4 full boarding rooms with attached bath, dressing area, etc. Each room is self contained. The front of the houseboat has the sitout ' sun deck' with comfortable cushions and seating arrangement. One can sit for hours on the sun deck without feeling bored. One can live and view the life on water as it goes through the twentyfour hour cycle everyday.
The day begins early here at Dal Lake for the vegetable farmers and vegetable vendors from the city who come calling at the vegetable market on the Dal lake well before the sun rays have peeped from behind the peak of Zabarwan Hills. Kashmiri farmers living in Dal Lake grow vegetables here on the floating farms. These farms produce fine variety of green vegetables - spinach, radish, cucumber, cauliflower, cabbage, etc are grown in abundance on the floating fams. Eevery morning the vegetable retailers from the city descend here and purchase vegetables in bulk from the floating farms. It is quite a sight to watch farmers and buyers haggling and bargianing from their boats. By the time the sun rays have strated sparkling on the Dal lake the buyers are on the way towarsd the boulevard rowing their boats laden with fresh vegetables which gets sold in the Srinagar city. A visit to the vegetable market is must.
Dal Lake is not only home to about 500 houseboats but it also house apporx 1000 families and houses various communities. It has its own mohallas on water inhabited by peopel from various communities practising occupations ranging from farning , horticulture to carpet weaving, wood carving, etc. Since this is also a community village, it has its own provision stores, tailoring shops, mutton and fish sellers, grocey stores, tea stalls, tea stall, cafes, kabab sellers, fast food joints, fruit stalls and every thing else which you and I access in ourt own localities in our cities. These mohallas are accessed only thorugh small boats, which every family seems to own, sometimes more than one in each household. These small boats are means of transport for these people living on water. It is like owning our own scooter or two wheeler in each of our households in cities.
The typical mohallas have cluster of houses on houseboats as well as brick and wood tin roofed houses built over the shallow water. Typical houses have small vegetable garden around the house. Vibrant red, pink, yellow roses abound here and spreads fragranc around. The wild lotus - yellow, white and pink grow and bloom around these houses and in the lotus farm. Lotus is grown not only for its flowers but alos for its stem. Lotus stem or 'Nadru' as it is called in Kashmir is a vegetarian delicary of Kashmir. 'Nadru Yakhni' is a delicacy which one must try here.
Life on the Dal is unique and special and it brings you face to face with sights and sounds which is so refreshing, exotic yet the simplest things. How can I not talk about the Flower Sellers who come calling to every houseboat rowing their quaint little boats laden with fresh flowers of every hue and variety. These flower sellers come calling early in the morning and hark at every houseboat. Vibrant roses, lilies, tulips, pancies, genias, lotus, gerberas are only some of the varieties that I could remember. The flower seller sits on one end of the narrow boat and flowers are kep on the rest of the boat. They call out " phool lena" (want to buy flowers), "phool ka seed lena" (want to buy flower seeds) at ecah of the houseboat. These flowers do not come cheap as it is delivered at your doorstep, so are the seeds. Every flower boat has a name, some of them read " Nice Man Flower Seller"