Srinagar’s Dal is the second largest lake in Jammu & Kashmir, after Wular in Bandipore district. The 21.1 sq km lake is popular among tourists for its water sports and the floating market. The area’s markets, shops, mosques, houseboats and the floating vegetable gardens together provide a means of livelihood to a large number of people in Srinagar and the neighbouring towns.

It was still dark when I left my houseboat accompanied by my guide Asif, to catch a glimpse of the floating market. The oars of our shikara cutting through the water was the only sound audible at that early hour. We passed through a thicket of water lilies and, soon, there were more shikaras accompanying us.

At the crack of dawn, scores of boats carrying fresh produce — flowers, vegetables, spices, and more — gather at a specific spot in the lake that has come to be known as the floating market. I spent hours talking to the vendors and buyers, sipping on kahwa sold from one of the boats, and soon the whole market was shutting shop before the rays of the sun could touch the water.

This morning ritual is at least a century old. Many of the vendors here are the fourth generation in their family business. The Dal wetland is conducive to growing several kinds of vegetables — tomatoes, brinjals, cucumbers, water chestnuts and lotus stems abound.

The floating vegetable gardens are built by gathering the weeds floating on the water surface, cleaning them and pressing their roots together to create a hard bed that can support the weight of the soil needed for cultivation. These beds are usually one or two metres deep, and about 150m long.

The vegetables grown in the floating gardens are organic, and they are so delicious that legend goes that Mughal kings had them transported all the way to Agra. In recent times, amid the ongoing strife in the Valley, the floating market becomes a lifeline for supplies during curfews.

Deepti Asthana is a Mumbai-based freelance photographer

Natural wonder: The 21.1 sq km Dal lake is part of a natural wetland located within the catchment area of the Zabarwan mountain valley

Bedrock: The beds for the floating vegetable gardens are made by weaving together the roots of the weeds that grow on the lake’s surface

Room to grow: The floating beds for the organic vegetables are 1-2m deep, and up to 150m long

Lifeline: Dal Lake’s houseboats and floating market are a vital aspect of the local economy

Sight to see: Tourists throng the lake for joyrides in the local boats known as shikaras

1 / 0
Early bird: The floating market at Dal Lake opens before dawn