I landed in Srinagar and began, almost on cue, my search for the beauty forever shown in Indian cinema, or at least in the movies of yesteryears. The first thing that hits me instead is the strategically placed CRPF Jawans at prominent places. Wearing bulletproof jackets and helmets, they stand not-at-ease. The sight can immediately stir unease within you. It did within me. (no photo-clicks of the police allowed)
I looked harder for the scenic beauty, but it continued to evade me. I guess I was looking in the wrong… season?
The Chinar trees had dried up, after all, and the Himalayas looked murky due to the heavy fog hanging around them. In any case, at a time you can feel your innards freeze bit by painful bit, ‘doing the sights’ become secondary; what you crave instead is a warm abode with a warm cup of chai in your hands to help thaw your numb muscles.
So then the sun decided to come out, and the poor thing looked like it had given up without even trying- the air continued to freeze (okay, almost freeze) at 2 degrees Celsius.
“Sloth will take you nowhere”, I told myself. “Most likely it’ll freeze you exactly where you stand,” I added. I decided to board a tourist bus from the airport to the Tourist Reception Centre (TRC).
Notes
- There are hourly buses from the airport to the city. Fare- Rs 50.
- If you are staying near Dal Gate, Boulevard or Gagribal road, get down at TRC.
- Look around.
- Find rickshaws easily.
- Shell out Rs 30 to Rs 40 and get one of them take you to any of the abovementioned places.
- The same service is available also on the TRC-Airport route.
- Want to go to the airport? Leave 2 hours early. There are 5-6 security checks on the way.
Upon arrival at the TRC, Firdous, the houseboat owner, hijacks me and promises me a fine warm stay for Rs 400 a night. The offer included breakfast and dinner. Could I refuse an offer like that? I couldn’t.
Firdous and I, we rove on a shikara (boat, for those who never watched Kashmir ki Kali) to his houseboat (Veena Houseboats).
Dal-day
Dal-night
Notes
- Veena Houseboats has deluxe, semi-deluxe and basic houseboats.
- It charges you Rs 400 for basic, Rs 1200 for semi-deluxe and Rs 3000-5000 for deluxe.
- Houseboat stay includes breakfast and dinner.
“Not everything they show in the movies is true, sweetheart.”
The time I spent in the houseboat made me arrive at a rare understanding- Shammi Kapoor wasn’t a great dancer; he shook the way he did just to drive the chill away.
Surrounded by water, the houseboat was as cold as hell would be, when it would indeed freeze over. “And the night isn’t even here yet”, I told myself. It was that kind of immobilizing cold which made it impossible to move an inch- I was stuck within the houseboat, because I couldn’t even walk out if I wanted to warm myself. The electricity is downright dim and no electric heating equipment works.
this blasted thing produced more smoke than heat
I decided to sip some Old Monk in hot water (because I had to, you know. I would have frozen otherwise. Believe me! Oh whatever. )
Four thick blankets and all-possible warmers redeemed the cold night. God bless Hot-bags!
Day 2:
Morning did not bring relief. If anything, it was worse. I didn’t know how I could have dragged myself out of the bed; every inch of my body cursed me for choosing this season to come here. There was hot water on call, but where was the strength to go out and call?
Rising temper at own foolishness should have raised temperatures, but it didn’t.
Gathering every bit of courage left in my body, I reached for the bottle of rum. It helped me out of the bed, yes, but it also meant it was going to be a tipsy morning.
Nehru park on Dal
toilet rolls anyone?
going to school
visiting friends
shops on call
Serene as it is, life on Dal Lake is fascinating; boats ferry kids to school, goods to markets and visitors to houseboats and Dal tourist tours.
Fascinated, I watched life float on the lake and hoped to permanently etch, like Wordsworth, each fleeting memory on my mental landscape. Of course, with my brand-new Sony HX100, the exercise must be easier for me than for the meandering Bard.
Dal Lake
Snap! snap! went the shutterbug.
Harisingh fort in sight
Dal market
Firdous arranged a Shikara for me and took me to shopping places where I could find the “best deals in the town.” Clearly, he was getting commission for each purchase I made, but I didn’t really mind that. He was a nice man. Plus, he had a big family to feed. I was staying cheap and he could do with the extras bucks.
Accompanied by Firdous, I started my Shikara ride at 11 in the morning. There are a lot of other tourists, mostly couples.
Notes
A Shikara ride
- Comes for Rs 300 an hour on a covered boat, but costs far less during off-season. Haggle.
- Open small boats are mainly for locals living on Dal. A ride on them comes for 100 bucks an hour.
- Shikara operators promise to show you different places on Dal such as the Golden Lake, Zameen ki Churi, Vegetable Garden, Nehru Park, floating market, etc. But all these places are just names given to same water bodies, all at the same place. So technically, it’s just one Dal lake.
- So basically, just take a single one-hour ride. If you are keener, do water track the whole day (Rs 1,500-2,000) and cover more ground for 6-8 hours. It lets you explore the quieter parts of the Lake, and you can appreciate the serene Dal’s famous sunset.
- There are hawkers everywhere on water. Avoid buying anything from them; they overprice everything.
- Your guide gets a 20 to 30 percent commission on everything you buy from the floating market.
If you didn’t know it already, Kashmiris, in general, are porcelain-skin, tall and light-eyed people. Wrapped in black overcoats, they can be seen walking in confident strides, and even the oldest among them appear strong and ready to take on the challenges of a tough terrain and climate. It is often difficult to decide what to stare at and admire- the scenery or the people.
Garden
Whenever on land, I walked without stopping, because it kept me warm and mostly because, well, I missed being able to do that on my houseboat.
On one of my aimless strolls, I discovered a centrally heated (!) Café Coffee Day at the Boulevard. It became my regular evening coffee place.
Day 3:
As the days rolled by, I started missing something I never imagined I could miss- living on good old land. And my cheap-basic-budget houseboat had got painfully cold anyway. For Rs 600 a night, I decided to move to Hotel Swiss. Warm and snug as my new temporary address was, it still took me half a bottle to gather the courage to shower!
On terra firma after two whole days on the water, I decided to exercise my limbs as much as I could. Measure the whole town on foot, people. It’s the best way to keep you warm.
Kashmir Government Arts Emporium
I visited the government art emporium. Located inside a beautiful building, it is a place which you must see, if not necessarily shop at. It closed at around 4pm when I was there, but it remains open for longer during summers.
Shopping in Srinagar:
Pashmina: Thumb rule for Pashmina shopping? Do not buy 99% of what is being sold. It is all fake. You cannot trust the shopkeepers, houseboat owners or guides. Pure Pashmina minus embroidery starts at Rs 11,000 a shawl. Anything below that means you might return home with nothing but an overpriced piece of cleverly done fake.
There are cheaper and smarter options to Pashmina like count and pure wool. Good embroidery pure wool shawl can be bought for anything from Rs 800 to Rs 5000.
Saffron: Good quality pure Kashmiri saffron starts from Rs 300 per gram. Again, there are high chances of bogus saffron; fake color or aroma can easily be added to misguide buyers. The most expensive spice in the world, pure saffron is hard to get.
Aari/ hand embroidery work on suits, saris and shawls: While it is difficult to tell machine embroidery apart from that done by hand, the latter looks prettier and is far more expensive. Real handmade embroidery requires patience, hard work and lots of time to be made. So when you buy handwork, make sure it is exactly that.
Leather: The leather available in this part of the country is mostly Goat leather. It makes pretty, sturdy purses and jackets. While purses can be yours for anything between Rs 250 and Rs 1000, be ready to shell out Rs 1,500-Rs 5000 for jackets with embroidery.
Dry fruits: Unless you wind up with a walnuts compared to Delhi Difference of 100 to 250Rs in.
Best Buy: For Ferrans, the traditional Kashmiri gown-like winter wear, you can buy good quality woolen material for Rs 200 to Rs 280 a meter, and then get it stitched for Rs 250 in Srinagar. Acquiring these makes sense as they help protect you from the biting cold while you travel across Kashmir in winters.
Government Art Emporium: Get nice, cheap souvenirs from here. For shawls and other fabric, the place is a little overpriced, but you can definitely trust the place for quality. Plus, the stuff available here is definitely handwork.
cont...
No comments:
Post a Comment