I cannot imagine someone in my generation who has not heard about the beauty of Kashmir and did not long to see it. Political tensions prevented a trip to this beautiful place during our growing up years. However, movies made in the 70s always mesmerized us with the paradise on earth. All girls wanted one chance to be the "Kashmir ki Kali". Though on this occasion I did not get to explore of the entire state, however, I still did get an opportunity to spend a day in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu & Kashmir. Indulgent houseboats, historic gardens, distinctive Kashmiri wooden mosques and a mild summer climate combine to make Srinagar one of India’s top domestic tourist attractions.
Our photography group reached Srinagar in the afternoon and we took a car to reach our destination - Morning Star Houseboat in Dal Lake. The surrounding to the airport is congested, however, once we crossed the main market area, we saw the beauty of Srinagar city. It was interesting to see the cone shaped roofs of all the houses - the driver told us it was done to ensure so that snow does not get accumulated in the rooftops. After driving for around 30 minutes, we reached the city’s greatest attraction - the mesmerizing placid Dal Lake. The Dal Lake is Srinagar's jewel, a vast, mirror-flat sheet of water reflecting the carved wooden balconies of the houseboats and the misty peaks of the Pir Panjal mountains.
On the shore there were flotillas of gaily painted shikaras (gondola-like taxi boats) which skiff around the lake, transporting goods to market, children to school and travellers from houseboat to shore. I was told there are about 1200 houseboats at the Dal Lake and another 600 or so at Nagin Lake. Each houseboat has their own shikharas and we got into one for a jolly ride in the lake to reach our houseboat Morning Star. The houseboat is an architectural miracle blended with hospitality. The room of the Morning Star Houseboat is adorned with exquisite pieces of walnut wood and with time they have been rendered more or less as artefacts. You need to enter the houseboat through narrow balcony into a drawing room, after which there is the dining room and finally the bed rooms (2 or 3) with attached bath.
We quickly freshened up and had Kahwa (Kashmiri tea) which is extremely refreshing. The tea is made by boiling green tea leaves with saffron strands, cinnamon bark, cardamom pods and occasionally Kashmiri roses to add a great aroma. Generally, it is served with sugar or honey and crushed nuts, usually almonds or walnuts. After that we went for sight seeing. Since it was Ramzan month, we decided to visit the old city and see the beautiful mosques of that area. First we went to the Hazratbal mosque. This 20th-century building enshrines Kashmir’s holiest relic, the Moi-e-Muqqadas, supposedly a beard hair of the Prophet Mohammed. However, we were not allowed inside the mosque and hence decided to spend some time looking at the surrounding market.
The puris that we saw in the market are the biggest we had ever seen. It was extremely tasty to eat along with halwa. We also tasted lotus team fry which is a very common street food here.
Next we went to the Jama Masjid. The mosque forms a quadrangle around a large fountain garden courtyard with monumental brick gatehouses marking each of the four cardinal directions. There’s room for thousands of devotees between 378 roof-support columns, each fashioned from the trunk of a single deodar tree. We reached around evening and had to cover our heads before entering the mosque. Since it was time to break the fast, lot of people had assembled for their evening prayers. It was interesting to see people from different age groups assembled together to offer their prayers and then break their fast together. Also, this is one mosque, we were allowed to go around freely, click photographs without any trouble.
Next we went to see Khanqah Shah-i-Hamadan. This distinctively spired 1730s Muslim meeting hall is one of Srinagar’s most beautiful, with both frontage and interiors covered in papier-mâché reliefs and elaborately coloured khatamband (faceted wood panelling). Non-Muslim visitors can peek through the door but may not enter.
Next morning, we decided to visit the floating market. The floating market is another interesting aspect of Srinagar. This is not a retail market; vegetable growers come with shikaras laden with leafy greens, water chestnuts, onions, tomatoes, cucumbers and more, to sell to agents of the shops on land. Given tourist interest in this, the market now also has a plethora of shikaras selling flowers, saffron, wood carvings, etc. This is a very old market where the sale and the purchase of vegetables take place between 5 am and to 7 am everyday. Most of the vegetables are grown on the lakeside and retrieved from the lake before being sold in just 2 hours. Any vegetables left over are taken to street markets.
We got up around 4.45 am to get ready. We started cruising on the lake early in the morning in darkness as dawn was breaking out. The stillness of water, the tranquility of surroundings broken only by the calls for prayers from distant mosques in the city provided for a thrilling experience. Fortunately it wasn't raining though the sky was overcast. The cruise on Dal lake is slow and manual. Thank heavens for that. The manual rowing of the boat ensure that tranquility of the lake is not disturbed.
We must have reached there around 6.00 am. The market was not very big, that is the first thing I could register. The second thing I noticed that there were other tourist boats, maybe 3-4 more. By Indian definitions that was not crowded or touristy at all. This is a local vegetable market where wholesale vendors sell to retail vendors. Because of the tourists a few boats sell flowers and snacks too. Shikaras jostle with each-other in the local market. They make way by pushing and nudging the boats. Having noticed that we are outsiders and tourists, few hawkers came closer to us asking us to buy different products - flowers, saffron, jewellery. The buyers had come in their own boats and we could see them bargaining with the wholesalers for the best price. Soon after an hour, we could see all the vegetables/flowers transferred from wholesalers to retailers and boats moving away slowly.
It was a beautiful and unforgettable experience - something to be cherished forever.
I wish I could spend some more time in Srinagar. However, I know I would definitely come back!!
Our photography group reached Srinagar in the afternoon and we took a car to reach our destination - Morning Star Houseboat in Dal Lake. The surrounding to the airport is congested, however, once we crossed the main market area, we saw the beauty of Srinagar city. It was interesting to see the cone shaped roofs of all the houses - the driver told us it was done to ensure so that snow does not get accumulated in the rooftops. After driving for around 30 minutes, we reached the city’s greatest attraction - the mesmerizing placid Dal Lake. The Dal Lake is Srinagar's jewel, a vast, mirror-flat sheet of water reflecting the carved wooden balconies of the houseboats and the misty peaks of the Pir Panjal mountains.
On the shore there were flotillas of gaily painted shikaras (gondola-like taxi boats) which skiff around the lake, transporting goods to market, children to school and travellers from houseboat to shore. I was told there are about 1200 houseboats at the Dal Lake and another 600 or so at Nagin Lake. Each houseboat has their own shikharas and we got into one for a jolly ride in the lake to reach our houseboat Morning Star. The houseboat is an architectural miracle blended with hospitality. The room of the Morning Star Houseboat is adorned with exquisite pieces of walnut wood and with time they have been rendered more or less as artefacts. You need to enter the houseboat through narrow balcony into a drawing room, after which there is the dining room and finally the bed rooms (2 or 3) with attached bath.
We quickly freshened up and had Kahwa (Kashmiri tea) which is extremely refreshing. The tea is made by boiling green tea leaves with saffron strands, cinnamon bark, cardamom pods and occasionally Kashmiri roses to add a great aroma. Generally, it is served with sugar or honey and crushed nuts, usually almonds or walnuts. After that we went for sight seeing. Since it was Ramzan month, we decided to visit the old city and see the beautiful mosques of that area. First we went to the Hazratbal mosque. This 20th-century building enshrines Kashmir’s holiest relic, the Moi-e-Muqqadas, supposedly a beard hair of the Prophet Mohammed. However, we were not allowed inside the mosque and hence decided to spend some time looking at the surrounding market.
The puris that we saw in the market are the biggest we had ever seen. It was extremely tasty to eat along with halwa. We also tasted lotus team fry which is a very common street food here.
One interesting thing about Kashmir is that daylight is available till 8 pm and you don't realize it is late evening because of that.
We got up around 4.45 am to get ready. We started cruising on the lake early in the morning in darkness as dawn was breaking out. The stillness of water, the tranquility of surroundings broken only by the calls for prayers from distant mosques in the city provided for a thrilling experience. Fortunately it wasn't raining though the sky was overcast. The cruise on Dal lake is slow and manual. Thank heavens for that. The manual rowing of the boat ensure that tranquility of the lake is not disturbed.
We must have reached there around 6.00 am. The market was not very big, that is the first thing I could register. The second thing I noticed that there were other tourist boats, maybe 3-4 more. By Indian definitions that was not crowded or touristy at all. This is a local vegetable market where wholesale vendors sell to retail vendors. Because of the tourists a few boats sell flowers and snacks too. Shikaras jostle with each-other in the local market. They make way by pushing and nudging the boats. Having noticed that we are outsiders and tourists, few hawkers came closer to us asking us to buy different products - flowers, saffron, jewellery. The buyers had come in their own boats and we could see them bargaining with the wholesalers for the best price. Soon after an hour, we could see all the vegetables/flowers transferred from wholesalers to retailers and boats moving away slowly.
It was a beautiful and unforgettable experience - something to be cherished forever.
I wish I could spend some more time in Srinagar. However, I know I would definitely come back!!
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