Click to play videoSrinagar: For many who come to Kashmir every year, the trip is incomplete without staying in one of the houseboats that float on the Dal Lake, the Nigeen Lake and River Jehlum.
But behind the walnut woodwork and paper-machied ceilings is a secret that few of them know -- houseboats are not as Kashmiri as they seem.
The story goes like this. When the British first entered the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir in the late 19th century, the Maharaja granted them residency but prohibited them from owning any land.
Says the owner of Clarimont Houseboats, G M Butt, "In 1880s the foreigners, the British people or other foreigner nationalities were not allowed to buy land here because of the rules and regulations of the Jammu and Kashmir state."
During those days, long, single-storied boats with thatched roofs known as Doongas would move in the River Jehlum.
An Englishman named Dr Knight hit upon the idea of building a house on the boat. He got in touch with a man named Pandit Narain Dass Raina popularly known as Nav Narain.
Says Narain Dass's grandson, I K Raina, "As the time passed he converted the same Doonga to few rooms. It was a joint idea of my grandfather's and the Englishman."
Over the years, the houseboat has evolved from a very basic Victorian structure to something completely localised. Walnut woodwork, paper-machied interiors replaced plain furniture, while sun decks were retained.
Now the concept is completely Kashmiri, for example the walls are carved, and the ceilings are Khatamband, Charnbakhsh or Chnugush -- Kashmiri styles.
Today the houseboat is the perfect symbol for Kashmir and is a star attraction from foreign tourists.
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