Srinagar, Sept. 8 -- Buoyant on the serene waters of Dal Lake and overlooked by the majestic Zabarwan mountain range lies India's only floating post office - perhaps only such post office in the world- clocking its services everyday with an unsinkable zeal even as the world moves fast with instant communication and online transactions. Housed in a white majestic houseboat on the Dal Lake, the three-room floating post office has been witnessing good footfall of not only locals but an increasing number of tourists as the visitor rush increased in the Valley over the past few years. Not only is the place providing all the normal postal and financial services to the people since its renovation in 2011 but also acting as a cultural bridge between the artisans of the Valley and tourists from outside. Houseboats were introduced in Kashmir by the British and called 'palaces of water'. The floating houseboats made of deodar (cedar) wood with intricate carved walnut interiors have been an important part of Kashmir's tourism sector. The two-storey floating post office on Dal Lake has all these elements intact with latticed windows, carved walnut walls and Khatamband ceilings- a 600-year-old wood joining art which doesn't use iron nails - with many souvenirs of Kashmir art on display like paper mache and embroidered items. "This is a unique place in the world with no other such example. Dal Lake is in itself a distinctive place and providing services of posts on a floating houseboat on the lake attracts people more to the concept. More than the post office, it is our cultural heritage on display," said Rauf Ahmad, sub-post master, who heads the place. "This is the world's only post office. Another such example of a post office in a boat is in Indonesia. But that is not floating, that exists on stakes," he said. The place provides all the services like savings account, mail services and booking letters, parcels and post cards while the delivery is done by the general post office of Srinagar. "While the local residents of the lake come for availing the services, the tourists find this place fascinating and visit the place in good numbers," he said. The post office is innovating and evolving to keep up with the fast paced modern communication. Acting as a cultural icon of Kashmir's modern history and a prominent tourist attraction, the place is now offering people customised stamps of their pictures or pictures of lake and even selfie points while performing the basic duties of a post office. "The 'my stamp' concept of ours is an additional feature of this post office. One can make a stamp of their picture and use it on a post or a letter. 'My stamps' are getting more famous as it forms a memory that this was made on a floating post office in Kashmir's Dal Lake," Ahmad said. The concept of post on a boat is 70-80 years old in Kashmir but the floating post office gained traction after the place was renovated by the department of posts in 2011. River Jhelum, traversing from south to north Kashmir, and Dal Lake has been used as a means of transport before roads and vehicular introduction in the Valley. The post office has been a witness to Kashmir's recent tumultuous history while also navigating the rough and unpredictable weather of Kashmir like floods and snow storms. In 2014, when Srinagar city was hit by the worst floods in a century, the post office broke its mooring ropes and went floating on the Boulevard road. "During 2014 floods when the city was submerged and people struggling to save their lives, the post office was found floating aimlessly on Boulevard Road. A local resident had used ropes to anchor it," said Ahmad. He said that the post office has also crumbled due to heavy weight after an episode of heavy snowfall in Kashmir. "During high velocity winds also, we also need to be cautious. The winds can make the boat wobble like anything," he said....