Alappuzha: Gusty men with their wooden oars sitting in snake-boats will set fire to the waters of the Pampa river in the Champakulam Moolam Boat Race on Wednesday, kicking off yet another boat racing season in Kerala. Alappuzha district alone will witness more than two dozens of battles in the next three months.
Chambakkulam race, the harbinger of the Onam festival, begun in 1545, is held on the Moolam star in the Malayalam month of Mithunam. The residents of Kuttanad have also started trumpeting the season’s arrival on the social media, sharing its thrill and gusto, making their marketing easier abroad.
Two groups - Nehru Trophy Boat Race Kerala and Boat Races Kerala - are at the forefront with some 5,000 members providing the history of each snake boat and the race. “Preparations began weeks ago, smearing the boats with sardine oil for a smooth sailing,” Nadubhagom Boat Club president Joseph Elamkulam said.
“The best oarsmen are selected. The practice sessions are underway. Around 150 rowers representing the village will take the vow to observe strict abstinence and celibacy. Each ward in the village and generous individuals take their turn in feeding them during the practice at mass feasts on the river banks.”
Even from the days of untouchability, caste Hindus, Dalits, Christians and Muslims sit in the same row for the feast symbolising Kuttanad's communal harmony. In fact, the Church has a traditional role in the celebrations at Champakulam though the waer festival there is associated with a temple legend.
“The most common question tourists want to know is whether boat races will be happening when they visit Kerala,” he says. Vinod Karichal, a researcher, says historically and traditionally, they centred mainly on Alappuzha, Kollam and Kottayam districts. Its popularity has now spread to other parts of the state.
Its fame crossed the borders in 1952 when a flotilla accompanied the late Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru from Kottayam to Alappuzha to witness a battle of oars, and the most famous Nehru Trophy Boat Race was born. He was so thrilled by the performance that he jumped into one of the boats. On returning to Delhi, he donated a silver trophy and a replica of a snake-boat with an inscription and his signature, later known as Nehru Trophy.
