Rainawari

Rainawari. The back canals and waterways of Dal Lake. The "Venice of Asia". The perfect late morning shikara tour.

I cannot find evidence for when this part of Dal Lake was built up.
Supposedly it's really old.
With a bridge that claims to have come from Mughal times.
With an old inscription on it. I don't know what it says, though(can anyone interpret that for me?).

I do know that it's a beautiful part of the lake. The canals are full of old wooden buildings.
Their carvings and windows are full of character.
It's a very Kashmiri sight.

What's sad, though, is that much of the lake is a mess of pollution. The plastic bags floating in the water do not add any attractiveness.
What I would hope is that the recent and ongoing conservation efforts can both clean things up and maintain its historical value and beauty, to preserve a way of life that is so very unique.

The shikara

Life on Dal Lake is one of my favorite things about Kashmir. It uniquely takes place all on water. Houses are on water, stores are on water. Mosques are on water. Gardens are on water. And all transportation is over water.
The shikara, then, is essential in every family. It's what gets you from place to place.
It gets you to the store.
It gets you to the neighbor's house.
It gets you to work.
It gets the tourists to your boat.
It gets you to the shore.

And it's a marvelously slow way to travel.

There's time for thinking when you're on a shikara. Time to look around you and pay attention to something other than yourself. Time to see the world you're passing by.
Time to breath--that's rare, and that's something to savor.

Loaded shikara

Is this why Kashmir is considered a dangerous place? They load shikaras with gas cylinders?

I am reminded of the ridiculous opening scene in the movie Mission Kashmir when a shikara explodes.
Who would explode a shikara. And why?

Well this guy might, but not intentionally.

Shikara ride

My favorite thing about Kashmir is the lake.
The people.
The quietness.
The slower pace.
The beauty and culture reflected in its environment.

On this cold November morning, my friend offered to paddle me around the "block" of her neighborhood.

You can find anything you're looking for right there on the lake: groceries, phone charge, plastic buckets, sweaters, potato chips, pharmacy, carpets, shawls...
The shops were open, waiting for someone other than the locals to visit. The tourists have been missing for months.

The houseboats, too, are waiting for guests. Everything has been newly painted and repaired. There has been lots of time to fix those things you might otherwise never get around to.
All that's needed now is for someone to come back and enjoy all the fresh paint and improvements.

On the way to school

The everyday things I see on my walk to school never cease to catch me by surprise and amaze me. What is common place here is still exotic and new to me.
For instance, this is a very personalized lorry. It even has shikaras (water taxis) painted on it.
The neighbor's house was decorated to the hilt for a wedding. So much tinsel.
One morning as I passed the sheep being herded down the road, the shepherds pointed out to me a newly born lamb on the side of the road. This is not him, but a cute goat kid who was also part of the herd that morning.