522 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



Photograph by E. Moffat 



A FLOATING SUMMER HOME 



So delightful are house-boat days in Kashmir that most visitors utilize floating dwellings 

 instead of hotels. Such a boat not only has four rooms and two baths, with a sun deck on 

 top, but also an open fireplace for cool evenings beyond the Pir Panjal range, which separates 

 the temperate plateau of Kashmir from the hot plains of India. 



valley widens until the hills are indistinct 

 masses of blue haze. Most of the 35- 

 mile road to Srinagar lies between rows 

 of tall poplars planted very close together. 

 Baramula is the gateway to the Vale of 

 Kashmir, where one's thoughts so often 

 bridge the gap of the years to 



. . . "the magnificent son of Acbar, 



When from pow'r and pomp and the trophies 



of war 

 He flew to that vallev, forgetting them all, 

 With the light of the harem, his young Nour- 



mahal." 



This valley of blissful memory is an 

 oval basin 80 miles long and 20 broad, 

 extending from southeast to northwest. 

 "It is girt by mighty mountain ranges, 

 many of the peaks of which are higher 

 than Mont Blanc. These are the pearls 

 which encircle the emerald valley." 



RAHIM KAHN, PRESIDING GENIUS OE THE 

 PILGRIMAGE 



We reached Srinagar, the capital, after 

 a drive of three days and a half, although 

 this distance can be covered in two by 

 mail tonga or motor. 



At the post-office we were met by 



Rahim Kahn, the presiding genius of our 

 destinies for the next three weeks, and 

 escorted to the house-boat which was to 

 be our home, off and on, for that time. 



He at once took us in charge, bought 

 for us, cooked for us, made our bund- 

 bust, guided us — in short, managed us, 

 usually at a considerable profit to him- 

 self. He was cheerful, deferential, faith- 

 ful, and fertile in resources and always 

 made a show of carrying out our wishes, 

 although when differences of opinion oc- 

 curred things usually worked out accord- 

 ing to his program in such a roundabout 

 way that we could only guess the process 

 and wait for results. 



His hissabs (daily accounts) were 

 marvels of increase in the cost of living, 

 and when we firmly objected to being 

 charged Calcutta prices, his air of in- 

 jured innocence made us feel like petty 

 tyrants and often won the day for him. 



He was, in short, such a polite and 

 comfortable rascal that we overlooked 

 much and forgave more. He got his 

 chits (letters of recommendation) and 

 the Rs. 18/- for his last hissab, which 

 was presented a minute before we started 



