Shikara Ride, Dal Lake.

Dal lake, situated in the heart of the city of srinagar, Kashmir cradled by the snow clad zabarwan range is one of the main tourist attractions of the beautiful kashmir Valley. What sets this lake apart though is the famous shikara ride. For all those not familiar with what a shikara is, it is a boat with a canopy which is painted with bright attractive colors.
The shikara ride often stands out for both the people of kashmir & tourists for a number of reasons as the first thing a person notices as he starts the ride is the serenity of the beautiful lake. It’s quite, composed waters waving their way back & forth takes a person into a state of trance.

As I lay back, resting my head in a shikara, I often find myself zoning out of all my worries. I listen to the gushing waters telling me a tale. A tale of all the people they have met, of all the thoughts of people as they escape from the world and find solace in the shikara. From the great emperors of the past to a common men of the present, the dal lake holds the secrets of all & maybe that’s why whosoever takes on that shikara ride, leaves a part of himself in the whirlpools of the lake with a hope that someday, someone will look deep into that whirlpool & find peace knowing that they aren’t alone in this world, for experiences shared by people connect them forever.
In summer or winter, in spring or autumn.
In the freezing cold, in the everglowing warmth. In the darkness of the night, in the broad daylight, Dal lake never runs out of its enchanting beauty & that’s why I guess it remains the symbol of kashmir & kashmiriyat.

“Naseem boozum Tche baa’la daamein, Kamandh hya’th chhukh shikaar Tchhaaraan,
Ba sho’ka Tchaa’ne shikaari andhar,
Ya sir panun hya’th taarai ha laalo.”
A famous couplet by the poet of kashmir “Mehjoor” translated as below :
“At Naseem Bagh (Garden), I learnt you were across the lake , just below the hills,
Busy with your hunting Lasso, my love!
Here I come across in a shikara
Offering my head for your pleasure”