Land of the Shalimar, 1931

[Music] in a far corner of India lies a peaceful secluded Valley that is often described as one of the most beautiful parts of the world it is the famous veil of asmir the land of the Shalimar it is a land of lakes and rivers encircled on every Side by high mountains and along these Rivers canals and lakes you can go from end to end of the country by water in a comfortable houseboat like this we are drifting down the jalum river which for 3 miles forms the main street or gay Waterway of the city of seraga the capital city of the land the name means the city of the Sun the the city is very old dating back 2,000 years although of course it has been rebuilt many times in about the 15th century Kashmir enjoyed particular happiness under the rule of the great mogal Emperors of India and the scene of one of the most romantic and passionate love stories of the world was laid in this very land it is the story of the emperor Shah Jan and mumtaz Mahal and of the immortal Monument of the Taj Mahal that the Emperor built for her in India presently we will visit the actual scenes of that story at the shalomar Garden on the Dal Lake of Kashmir and afterwards go to visit the Taj Mahal at Agra in India life in Kashmir seems to be one continuous upstream and downstream Affair and you can well imagine that boat building is one of the important industries here great logs are being brought into the city from the mountain forests to be used for boat building or for house building glorious snow mountains form the distant walls of this carpenter shop where the Carpenters work all day long in the lovely Sunshine of Kashmir they are building a boat and are sowing the planks from the deodar wood a remarkable native wood that stands the water unpainted for 50 years they are aided in using their crude and simple tools by the wonderful accur ACC y of their eyesight all Indians and kashmiris have marvelous sight he is cutting two planks for the boat so straight and true that they will be perfectly watertight when placed together another happy Craftsman is busy making the Furnishings for the houseboat did you ever see a more primitive lathe than this made of two posts hammered in the ground with two long nails driven through for the lath point with one hand occupied in driving the lathe he has only one hand for the tool so he uses his toes and seems to use them just as easily as his hands and out of this primitive lathe comes a perfectly turned leg of a table he can also do the most intricate and elaborate work in shaping wheels and spiral candlesticks this is a tenement type of house booat it is the home of this simple girl and her family very often you'll find a few chickens a goat or a cow in the boat the smart set in C have Sun parlor on the roofs of their boats highly decorated with railings and flower pots too uh-uh what's this not The Barber of Seville Oh no just an old cashmir custom the barber Deluxe the customer gets service while seeing the site you know in cashmir your neighbors change with the tithe almost nothing left of his hair now this one is going through a sort of dry cleaning process it's all done without any fuss or bother by the roadside a nice smooth dry shave with a razor wiped now and then on the customer's coat for good measure now then off with his eyebrows too they call their little boats Shikara like the gonders of Venice they are the taxis of Sagar but just look at the familiar names on them sunflower spring chicken Lucitania Rolls-Royce and here's whoopy wagon hot stuffed spring seat I'll bet there's a hot cover charge on that one now let's take take Rolls-Royce and continue to cruise down the fascinating River we were fortunate enough to be in the city at the time of the annual opening of the Royal Court of the great Maharaja the ruler of Kashmir and we saw the ceremony of the procession down the river the Maharaja in his State barge followed by his ministers and his subjects look here comes the advance boat clear the way clear the way it's the Maharaja of Kashmir then the royal boat itself with the standard Bearer carrying the flag of Kashmir under an embroidered palankin sits Maharaja sir Harry Singh one of the most powerful and richest of the independent princes of India Prince ruler of Kashmir he Glides smoothly by paddled by a 100 oresman all keeping perfect time with The Strokes of their paddles and now see who comes in crowds of little boat come crowds of little maharajas each one is bursting with pride and importance and each one is trying to paddle his canoe up into the front Rank and here they come and more and still more they come after this regata they will go to offer their thanks and their praise to Allah his evening prayer is a ceremony that a muhammadan will never neglect by the mosque on the Riverside or else collected in groups in the open streets you will see them in the evening engaged in solemn [Music] prayer [Music] evening is drawing in we are drifting down the river that leads us out of the city towards the distant mountains towards the countryside and the picturesque Villages beside the lake and also the lovely Shalimar Gardens let us gft in our household