This series’ overall title is an oft-quoted description of Dal Lake.
”Lake of flowers” is another.
If one is up very early, sitting in a boat as it glides across the lake’s quieter end, and one looks up – or across the lake – one really can “feel the serenity”.
Then, it is easy to understand why the beauty of Kashmir’s most famous lake has long been “legendary”.
However, in 2024, “serenity” is not what the majority of tourists experience on Dal Lake, nor is it what most of them are looking for.
The number of tourists is rising, rapidly.
In the first six months of 2024 more than 1.6 million visited the “Vale of Kashmir”, in which Dal Lake sits.
Dal Lake is a “must see” for most visitors to Indian-controlled “Jammu and Kashmir”.
It is no longer a place of tranquility.
No honest and observant person would have any need of words like “natural”, “pristine”, “quiet” or “healthy” when describing Dal Lake’s current condition.
(A list of more useful/truthful terms would include “environmentally degraded”, “polluted”, “crowded” and “over-commercialised”)
The hype-signage notwithstanding, Dal Lake, and the “Vale…” are longer “paradise on earth”.
Dal Lake is, however, fascinating and multi-faceted…as this series will attempt to illustrate.