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A holiday as a floating dream

How about a vacation spent in dream-like languor, where the food and even the market comes at your doorstep?

Heavy security and crisp mountain air greeted us at Srinagar airport. In the cleft of that contrast, our car headed for the Nageen lake on the outskirts of the city. Army barricades at every junction were juxtaposed against the picture postcard mountains that rose to our left, right and ahead.

We stopped at a quiet part of the Nageen lake and boarded a shikara, the ubiquitous Kashmiri boat, which was waiting for us.

Gliding gently to the musical rhythm of the oar cutting through the water, we sailed for a good 15 minutes, gliding through lily leaves and green moss, and scuttling ducks. To the east, the snow-white Mahadev mountain loomed large at hand-shaking distance. Our shikara grazed the front deck of a houseboat that would be our home for the next seven days.

Elegant decor

Lord Palace was a medium-sized houseboat moored in a tranquil corner of the Nageen Lake. It had two bedrooms, a drawing room and a dining space. The décor was elegant with silk upholstery and light grey and cushion covers draped in shades of blue Kashmiri crewel designs. The walls in intricate lattice woodwork, all handcrafted by master craftsmen. "For all the woodwork, we use cedar, commonly known as deodar," said Basher, the owner of the houseboat. "With time, cedar takes on a light golden hue."

I opened the sliding framed glass door of the drawing room and stepped out on the front deck that had charming sit-ins. It was here that I spent a good part of my stay, soaking in the stillness of the lake, alive to the twittering of a hundred birds, imagining shapes in the clouds, watching the hills and the snow-capped mountains wake up and then hide in the mist.

Next morning, Latif Bhai, the attendant, served bed tea sharp at seven. He had already turned on the gas-fuelled heater in the drawing room. Outside, the lake was misty, but not asleep as I soon found out. Teacup in hand, I stepped out of the drawing room to the chilly front deck. At that early hour, a hundred birds were chirruping, chipi- chipi chipi chipi chipi, chooie-chooie, chak-a-chak chak-a-chak. The dark grey moor hens flew low above the water and then splashed in with a flutter, gliding some distance, leaving behind a water trail much like the way tiny speedboats would do. Then they joined the others with their own piak-piak. It was an orchestra on a grand scale that strangely accentuated the tranquillity of the lake which was yet to come out of the morning haze.

From the front deck, the lake stretched far to the left. To the right, the shore was nearer and edged by woods thick with poplars, chinars and willows. Slowly, the morning mist cleared and the hills on the far west emerged. Beyond them, the white massif of the Aparvat mountain blazed in the morning sun. "That is where Gulmarg is," said Latif Bhai pointing. Every meal in the houseboat was a treat. At lunch, Latif Bhai announced: "I have made some special Kashmiri dishes today. This is nadru, made from lotus stem. And the one here is a traditional wazwan fare called gushtaba."

Gushtabas are large meatballs in spicy curd-based gravy. No Kashmiri wedding is complete without them. No wonder we felt like the groom's party at the dining table every time we sat down for a meal.

All through the afternoons, shikaras laden with various goodies would stop by our houseboat. Some had exquisite chain stitch and embroidery on clothes and furnishings and others jewellery. A few were groaning under the weight of dry fruits while yet others were heaped with leather jackets and vanity bags. A little man came in a small dinghy with only a small cloth-wrapped bundle. The heady aroma of saffron hit us even as he unwrapped it.

This was a strange place where you relaxed all day and the market came gliding to you, one shop after another.

One sat all day till the front deck became too cold towards the evening. Time then to withdraw into the warmth of the drawing room, gaze at the lake, the willows and the poplars, the green hills and the snowy mountains as they tenderly melted into the darkness. Then it was time for the lights in the distant houseboats to sprout like stars, their reflections shimmering in the lake.

And then it was time for dinner, topped by caramel pudding, to the accompaniment of the symphony of a happy frog croaking. I joined him, humming. Tomorrow was going to be another dream-like day.

Getting There

Several airlines operate flights between Delhi and Srinagar.

The railhead is at Jammu. Regular buses take 12 hours to reach Srinagar from Jammu. There are direct luxury buses from Delhi to Srinagar that takes 24 hours.

Stay and tips

The houseboat in the Himalayan lake is unique to Srinagar and is available in all categories to suit all budgets.

Make sure that breakfast, dinner and shikara ferry to and from the shore are included in the price.

Useful contacts

Check out the websites

www.houseboatowners.org

and www.jktourism.org

The office of J&K Tourism, Srinagar, can be contacted on 0194-2452690/ 91.

ASHIS DUTTA

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