shikara
/ʃɪˈkɑːrə
/noun Indian
1(In Kashmir) a houseboat.It starts off rather well with some good shots of shikaras blowing up....
- The shikara goes up in flames, and paradise burns.
- Most shikara owners feel that if a Pahalgam like incident occurs again, it would be a disaster for tourism.
1.1 (also shikari) A light, flat-bottomed boat.Many of the 6,000 families living on the Dal have been shifted and more are to follow, though they want to continue with their business like renting houseboats or plying the shikara (tourist boats)....
- The shikara, with its slim gondola shape, is well known to visitors who use it as a water taxi across Dal Lake.
- Nishat and Shalimar gardens as well as Hazratbal mosque are directly accessible by shikara.
Origin
Via Kashmiri from Persian šikārī 'of hunting'.