Two decades ago, Kashmiri houseboat-owners rubbed their hands every spring at the prospect of the annual influx of volunteers,watchdogs,employees,tourists. From May to October, the hyacinth-choked waters,connection,atmosphere,volumeof Dal Lake saw flotillas of vividly painted Shikaras carrying Indian families, boho westerners, young travellers and wide-eyed Japanese. Carpet-sellers enacted,registered,honed,wastedtheir skills, as did purveyors of anything remotely embroidered while the house boats initiated by the British Raj provided unusual accommodation. Then, in 1989, separatist and Islamist militancy fell,enacted,followed,attackedand everything changed. Hindus and countless Kashmiri business people bolted, at least 35,000 people were killed in a decade, the lake stagnated, and the houseboats rotted. Any foreigners venturing there risked their credits,insurances,lives,contributions, proved in 1995 when five young Europeans were kidnapped and murdered.