Houseboats in Srinagar – Living an experience
Houseboats in Srinagar – Can a trip to Kashmir or Srinagar to be specific ever be complete without experiencing them. In fact Kashmir tourism thrives on the unique houseboat experience that the tourists come here for.
After 3 days in Gulmarg and its famous Gondola ride , we landed in Srinagar to spend a night in a houseboat. I was initially a bit disappointed to know that we are not staying at the famous Dal Lake but at Nigeen Lake or Nagin Lake. I had never heard of this lake, Srinagar has always been equal to Dal Lake. After taking a round of Srinagar and its Dal Lake, I am happy that I stayed at Nagin Lake, which is not as crowded as the Dal Lake allowing you to spend some time with abundant nature around. It was experience to spend a day on the houseboat and observing the life and commerce of Srinagar & Kashmir tourism that revolves around these houseboats.
A colorful Shikara took my luggage and me to the landing of the Houseboat. I was served some tea as soon as I entered, and I saw my friends sitting around a vendor selling colorful paper Mache products – colorful hand painted boxes, bells, bangles, trays and many other small items. We were still haggling with him for a fair price when another vendor selling Kashmiri Jewelry landed and opened his suitcases filled with silver jewelry. There was a kind of pop out market inside the houseboat.
Shikara Ride
It was time for a leisurely Shikara ride to see the sun set on the lake. We again sat on the colorful Shikara and our boatmen started slowly pulling it in the waters. While most others in the boat were worried about the depth of the lake and the high probability of this slim boat toppling, I was worried about the cold water of the lake. We sailed past all other houseboats parked on the lake with curious names and saw many new age hotel chains claiming the houseboats as well. There were houseboats belonging to heritage hotel chains and others from their names indicated a local ownership. All the boats were in familiar shades of wood with the outer verandah well carved out wooden panels. What made me curious is that one edge of the houseboats is always attached to the land but these houseboat operators always bring their customers through a Shikara ride giving an impression that the boat is standing in the middle of the waters.
Shikaras have been immortalized in many Hindi films as perfect place to romance. With the number of houseboats surrounding and many more Shikaras doing rounds with tourists, am not sure about honeymooning couples romancing on Shikara, but a ride in Shikara is definitely romantic. If for a moment you thought it would be a solitary exploration of the nature in a Shikara, you can’t be further from truth. Every 5 mins another Shikara would come and park itself next to your Shikara and there begins the pursuit of a salesman. It is a complete market place and the moment these Shikara shops spot a tourist Shikara in the waters they line up to it one by one.
You can buy silver jewelry, Paper Mache items, Kashmiri Saffron, Phirans or get a cup of Kahwah . If you are not in a mood to shop or forgot your wallet in the houseboat – there are photographers who would come with a whole stack of Kashmiri costumes to you. You can wear them on top of what you are wearing – yes, right there in the narrow fragile Shikara in the middle of the chilling cold lake, and get yourself clicked as ‘Kashmir ki Kali’ or ‘Kashmir ka Phool’. If you do not want to go through the rigmarole, they would click your pictures with your camera for a small fee, which is a good idea for there is no other way to get yourself clicked in middle of the water.
Somewhere your Shikarawala would point you to a floating vegetable garden – remember Kashmiris eat a lot of lotus stem and it grows in water. Even lot of greens that they eat grows in water – is it not amazing. Have you seen floating vegetable gardens elsewhere? If yes please share the details with me.
From wherever you look at Shikaras – from the shore, from the houseboat or from another Shikara – they always make a good picture – give a perfect perspective that every travel photographer is looking for.
History of Houseboats in Srinagar
It is often believed that British brought the concept of houseboats to Kashmir valley. However I learnt it from our host Yaseen Tuman of Mascot Houseboats that in the ancient Kashmiri literature dating back to 13th CE, there is a mention of boats in the lakes of Kashmir valley. So boat making was not new to Kashmir. However they were used more for the convenience of local people rather than for the tourists or visitors.
Internet tells me that when British people came to the Kashmir valley, they were not allowed to buy land and as an alternate they build boats, parked them in the expansive lakes and lived out of them. Over a period of them these houseboats in Srinagar parked on the edges of the lakes became Kashmir’s major tourist attraction.
Today when you look at Dal Lake from the Shankaracharya temple, all you see is a city of houseboats. Imagine the economy that revolves around them and how many life long memories are created here.
What is a Houseboat all about?
Parked in a row along the edges of lakes like Dal Lake and Nagin Lake, houseboats in Srinagar look like a village surrounding the lake. Inside they usually have a few rooms with ensuite bathrooms, a dining room and a common room where all guests can sit and chat. All rooms have some arrangement to keep it warm and cozy, while the window overlooks the chilly waters of the lake. A small verandah with a sit out is the loveliest part of the houseboat – I would never forget early morning sitting out with a cup of tea in one hand, kindle in another and my eyes two timing between the kindle and the scene on the Nagin Lake, as the fog lifted itself lazily, as the shikaras started making rounds selling flowers and as the sun rays kissed good morning to the waters of the lake.
We took a round of a neighboring luxury houseboat that had some exquisite woodcarvings all representative of the life and culture of Kashmir. Motifs that prominently feature on woodwork of Houseboats in Srinagar almost always include Chinar trees that are so integral to the Kashmiri life. The bathrooms had all the modern amenities and for a small window in July there were air conditioners. Each and every piece of furniture showcased the fine workmanship of Kashmiri artisans. It was sad to hear that it is very difficult to find wood carving artists these days as they hardly find enough work to live on this art. Interiors are all done in the wood. The quality of carving and furniture depends on the category of boats. In the few houseboats that I saw wood panels were like a documentary on Kashmir and its Flora & Fauna.
Added advantage of traveling as a travel blogger was that the owner of houseboat not only showed us his other boats but he also played a film for us on the making of a houseboat. I loved watching that video. We would never know how much it takes to build a massive boat that would live for at least 50-60 years and would entertain thousands if not more tourists in its warm interiors. How the long wood panels are made into a hull – the bottom part of the boat that floats in the water and then how each panels is hand carved and how all of them come together to make a lovely home for the tourists.
We heard stories of business going down during the turbulent times in Kashmir. How the houseboat owners came together to bring it back by slashing their prices and by opening up the houseboats in Srinagar to mass tourists while earlier they catered only to elite tourists.
Everywhere we went in Srinagar, people spoke about the terrible floods the previous year. Everyone spoke about how high the water was. It was only the houseboat owners who were not impacted as the boats would just float on water no matter how high or low the water is.
Practical Tips for going on a Houseboats in Kashmir
Jammu & Kashmir tourism website lists all houseboats in Srinagar on all its lakes by category, along with boat owner’s name and the year of inception of boat. When you buy your Kashmir tour package you can check the category of your boat here.
Make sure you enjoy at least one sunset and one sunrise from your houseboat in Srinagar.
Do take at least one Shikara ride.
Haggle and negotiate before you buy anything from Shikara shops.
Take it from me, living on a houseboat is an experience you would cherish for the rest of your life.
Read my other posts on Jammu & Kashmir.
Kahwa – warmth of Kashmir .
Gulmarg & its famous Gondola ride .
Ladakh in winters – Mini Road Trip .
Ladakh for the Vegetarians .
0 评论: