Nisha Aggarwal, a Delhi-based artist/writer currently working as an art educator, visits Dal Lake with a fresh vision, remembering her childhood fantasies.
Perhaps, since my childhood,whenever I imagined Kashmir, it has always been a picture of floating Shikaras into Dal Lake, because that was the first saved picture of Kashmir in my mind while looking at any poster of touristic attraction or while watching the television. That time I used to think of planning a trip to Kashmir but never even imagined that someday I would live in Kashmir, and that too so near to Dal Lake where I could be able to visit it almost daily. Now, when something I never imagined has become a reality, I would say it never belied my fanciful and resplendent mental pictures about the place. Although, Kashmir has many places to visit within Srinagar (summer capital of Jammu & Kashmir) and outside, but Dal Lake has reserved the place of ‘Srinagar’s Crown’ or‘Jewel’ in the crown of Kashmir.
If I go into its history, Dal Lake is mentioned as ‘Mahasarit’ in ancient Sanskrit texts. Ancient history records mention that a village named Isabar to the east of Dal Lake was the residence of goddess Durga.This place was known as Sureshwari on the bank of the lake, which was sourced by a spring called the Satadhara. During the Mughal period, the rulers of India designated Kashmir, particularly Srinagar as their summer resort. Here they developed the vicinage of the Dal Lake with excursive Mughal-type gardens and pavilions as pleasure resorts, to enjoy the recuperative quench climate.After the death of Aurangzeb in 1707, which led to the disintegration of the Mughal Empire,Pashtun tribes in the area around the lake and city increased, and the Durrani Empire ruled the city for several decades.
In 1814,a significant part of the Kashmir valley, including Srinagar, was annexed by Raja Ranjit Singh to his kingdom; and, the Sikhs grew in influence in the region for 27 years. During the British Raj, the British also made Srinagar their capital during the summer months, attracted by the cool climate of the Kashmir valley, amidst the back drop of the majestic snow covered Himalayan ranges. The lake precincts experience temperatures in the range of 1-11 °C (34-52 °F) during winter and 12-30 °C (54-86 °F) during the summer season. The lake freezes when temperatures drop to about -11 °C (12 °F) during severe winter. Although, the Dogra Maharaja of Kashmir restricted the building of houses in the valley, the British circumvented this rule by commissioning lavish houseboats to be built on the Dal Lake. After the independence of India, the Kashmiri Hanji people built, owned, and maintained these houseboats, cultivating floating gardens and producing commodities for the market, making them the Centre of their livelihoods. The houseboats, closely associated with Dal Lake also provide accommodation in Srinagar.
And now, when I am residing in Srinagar since more than a year, I have confronted the various faces of the Dal Lake in different circumstances. Dal Lake is imperative to Kashmir tourism, and also an important source for commercial operations in fishing and water plant harvesting. The lake covers an area of 21.1 square kilometers, being a part of a natural wetland, including its floating lotus gardens, known as ‘Rad’ in Kashmiri, which blossom with lotusesin the month of July and August. But, apart from the fanciful touristic visit, finding pleasure of waving onto water while sitting in Shikara and watching the mountains from there, Dal Lake has served many more meanings to me. What I like about it the most is its shore line of about 15.5 kilometers which encompasses the various Ghats, houseboats, and on the other side,Mughal Gardens (Like Shalimar Bagh, NishatBagh, ChashmeShahi built during the reign of Mughal Emperor Jahangir), parks (Tulip Garden, Botanical Garden etc), restaurants,and hotels. If you are out to visit any of the places above including Sharkracharya temple and PariMahal, you will have to go by Dal Lake’s shoreline. It is worthy to take an evening walk even if you don’t want to visit any of the above places. The sizzling gathering of tourists, the sunset, sometimes cloudy sky, the silver-blue shining water, and fountains, can turn a dull evening into a gracious and energetic one.
Another face of Dal comes before the eyes when soon evening turns into serene night. The static houseboats, which show an example of Kashmiri wooden carvings in daytimes, now scintillate with colorful lights while spreading reflections onto the water. Generally, I wish to sit there in serene night all alone, allowing myself to plunge into various thoughts while looking the play of different colors over colorless water. I cannot forget a similar night when I was walking through Dal’s shore line as usual, and suddenly,my eyes encountered one of the former professors ofmy college where I studied, sitting there talking to someone. As I saw him, he too saw me, and that was a moment of surprise and wonder, which filled me with nostalgia. That night I travelled in bygone days, and the credit obviously goes to Dal as it stands as such a common place to visit by whoever comes to and lives in Srinagar.
I cannot forget the days of the month of March, when snowfall took place this year in Srinagar. I feel if Kashmir is known as ‘Jannat’ (heaven), it becomes true when snowfall happens. And, whenever snowfall happened I didn’t mind going to Dal Lake, and riding in a Shikaraall alone. Herewith, when I am trying to compile the various faces of Dal Lake I can’t resist remembering the devastating floods of Srinagar, which occurred exactly a year ago. At the time I confronted the Dal’s ruinous face, as it was completely coalesced into muddy floodwater, and there were no boundaries thatremained of Dal Lake and river Jhelum. But, thankfully it has overcomesoon and completely now erasing the scars the floods had left on its skin.
I would like to conclude with a few poetic words that describe Dal Lake’s ambience and feeling:
I float on Dal Lake, alone and suspended
I see blue water, green leaves and pink lotuses
Then reddish yellow chinar leaves fallen due to autumn
They seemed like maple leaves to me
I hear the prayers from mosque,
Holy words soaking the air
They make me more alone, empty and hollow
Just like thousands of houseboats lying empty
with beautifully carved furniture in it
Waiting for someone to come and to live in it…
