Srignagar - Houseboat on Nigeen Lake and watching the world go by

 

As the philospher Lao Tzu said "Make your heart like a lake with calm, still surface and great depths of kindness"

So Basav, my friend, and I, having not booked a place to stay in Srinagar on our last night there, decided to stay on a houseboat on Nigeen Lake. This Lake had been recommended by Basav's friend, and what a recommendation it was, serene, calm and relatively off the beaten track of Dal Lake which is much more commercial.

Having reached after lunch, we watched the world go by from the verandah of the houseboat in the remaining part of the day. There was so much to see, men fishing from a boat in the placid waters of the lake, Common Moorhen scurrying about, daintily stepping on lotus leaves and ......

...the ubiquitous boats in the reflection of the trees by the water's edge. Local people going about their business.

There was a mountain range opposite the lake, watching the clouds against these mountains and house boats in the foreground was a delight. 

These houseboats are made of pine and the part underwater resists getting soggy, these floating houses last for decades, finally (and sadly) being moored in a little backwater to house migrant labour. Each houseboat is exquisitely but differently carved, this carving was on ours. 

The next morning we were on a boat by 0430 am, first we went to the floating vegetable market where locals buy vegetables, this market was over in an hour....

...our next stop was interestingly a bakery in which bakers (kandur) make the local bread  (Tschott).  This is eaten, amongst other delicacies, with the very popular tea and spices, kahwa, of which we must have had about ten cups a day.  The bread is baked in a kind of tandoor, and bought while it is still hot, it was  absolutely delicious. 

Then we went to the floating flower market, a veritable tourist trap where there were more photographers than boats selling flowers. A pretty sight but very touristy and crowded and soon we were away.

The lotus stem, called Nadru, is a staple food here, though expensive, it used in many Kashmiri dishes.  This plant grows on most lakes in Srinagar and the flower is a delicate pink and blooms in profusion.

The marshy land has many wooden foot-bridges and boatmen use the canals and waterways in simple uncovered boats...

...Unlike the opulent and covered shikara,, waiting for tourists later in the day.  It is too early in the morning yet and they are apparently forlorn and empty at this early hour.

The Rainawari Backwaters are interesting with some old houses with verandahs and balconies overlooking the canal.  But now the water is very littered with the detritus of 'modern' living, mainly plastic of various shapes and sizes.  Sadly as we rowed past more garbage was being thrown into the waterway.

Our boatman passed his house and so stopped a bit, Basav and I sat in the boat and watched the world go by. There were pigeons meant for racing or homing, flying around frames meant for them: people going about their daily life using the water as a thoroughfare, perched precariously (or so it seemed) at the end of their boats. Four hours later we tied up at our houseboat., and we don't know whether we were saddened or learned by the experience, maybe a bit of both.

It takes lakes and mountains to see the serenity of your own soul