Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2011/05/18

[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]

Subject: [Leica] Houseboats on Lake Dal, Kashmir
From: photo at frozenlight.eu (Nathan Wajsman)
Date: Wed, 18 May 2011 07:45:43 -0700
References: <BANLkTimRyNAy5oS2vRoXzAgkjLPS57pKRw@mail.gmail.com>

Hi Larry,

It does look breathtakingly beautiful indeed, and the fact that the conflict 
is not only unresolved but probably getting worse, and certainly Pakistan 
can only be described as a borderline failed state now--sad.

Cheers,
Nathan

On 16 May, 2011, at 13:00 , Lawrence Zeitlin wrote:

> In the late 80s I had several lectures to give in Kashmir/Jammu and the
> sponsors were kind enough to put us up in a houseboat on Lake Dal. These
> houseboats are luxury accommodations, elaborately carved and richly
> furnished. Apparently foreigners were not allowed to own property in 
> Kashmir
> so the locals built rental houseboats for the tourist trade. I'm sure
> Jayanand can furnish all the details. Ours was one of a small fleet owned 
> by
> the Wangnoo family. It was built around 1900 and was the one used by
> Theodore Roosevelt when he vacationed in the area.
> 
> 
> Just about every surface of the houseboat interior is paneled with
> intricately carved  solid walnut. This type of wood is almost unobtainable
> in the US and Western Europe but in Kashmir it was so plentiful in the 
> 1980s
> that it was being burned as fuel. The following photos show both the
> houseboats and the carved interiors in detail. The young lady is my 
> daughter
> Karen who accompanied us on the trip. She enjoyed Kashmir, at least eating
> there, more than the rest of India because she didn't like curry. The
> pictures were taken with a Rollei 35SE and scanned from Fujichrome slides.
> 
> 
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/Houseboats+on+Lake+Dal+_87.jpg.html
> 
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/Houseboat+interior+on+Lake+Dal.jpg.html
> 
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/Houseboat+carving+_87.jpg.html
> 
> 
> Kashmir is one of the most naturally beautiful areas I ever visited. A
> lovely blue lake surrounded by snowy mountain peaks. On the other hand,
> there were thousands of Indian troops stationed in the area to quell social
> unrest and every decade or so there was armed conflict on the border with
> Pakistan. I took plenty of photographs of the area, the people, and the
> boats on the lake - but none of the Wangnoo family. I was politely
> discouraged by Mr. A. R. Wangnoo, the patriarch of the family. because he
> said that it violated Islamic tradition. However the Wangnoos were
> thoroughly modern in every aspect of their life so I suspect that his
> hesitance was based on the fear that the Indian authorities might somehow
> get access to the pictures. The Wangnoo family was very active in the "Free
> Kashmir" movement and strongly lobbied for an independent state of
> Kashmiristan. A quarter of a century later the problems are still
> unresolved.
> 
> 
> Larry Z
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Leica Users Group.
> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
> 

Nathan Wajsman
Alicante, Spain
http://www.frozenlight.eu
http://www.greatpix.eu
http://www.nathanfoto.com

Books: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/search?search=wajsman&x=0&y=0
PICTURE OF THE WEEK: http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws
Image licensing: http://www.alamy.com/search-results.asp?qt=wajsman
Blog: http://www.fotocycle.dk/blog






In reply to: Message from lrzeitlin at gmail.com (Lawrence Zeitlin) ([Leica] Houseboats on Lake Dal, Kashmir)