#Kashmirandladakhdilse #kashmir,#Ladakh,
The city of Srinagar, like most civilizations, is located on the two banks of River Jhelum. If you stand on the top of Shankaracharya hill and peer down at the city, you can see the river calmly winding its way down, from one end to another.
For centuries, water transport has been at the heart of the economic activity in Kashmir. Legend says Jhelum was known as `Wyth Prawa’ and it was worshiped during the reign of Lalitadaitya and Awantiwarman. In recorded history, water transport was modernized by King Zain ul Abideen Budshah (1420 to 1470). He used to cruise in Jhelum in Paranda (an ancient boat). The tradition continued till 1947 when modern buses were introduced for commuting.
Britishers used houseboats to cruise through Jhelum to reach Wullar Lake and Sindh River. There were several Ghats on the banks of Jhelum which were used as stops for commuters. From Amira Kadal up to the old city of Safa Kadal and Noorbagh, people used to take boats to reach their destinations
Several bridges connect the two sides of the city, most of them being in the downtown. The bridges which have been constructed over the last many centuries and have interesting names based on the different rulers that got them made initially. Most of these got damaged at some point in history due to ravaging floods, earthquakes or simply due to wear & tear over time.
wooden lattice windows, sticking close to one another, dotted both the banks. What’s noteworthy is that from every bridge, one can see the rooftops or spires of temples, mosques and shrines flanking the river. Both my parents are from downtown but had later moved to newer parts of the city. They often have interesting anecdotes to tell about how life in Srinagar was back then. They talk about how their lives were deeply connected to this river, which was truly the lifeline of those times.
People would go for their morning ablutions and bath at the nearest ghat before going to the temple or the mosque. Women would catch up on the latest gossip from each other sitting on the Yarbal (river)steps before washing clothes or carrying back a pail of water home.
