Comes Karkkidakam, the backwater of
Kerala becomes alive to celebrate the exiting sport of snake boat racing. The spirits
of rowers are not dampened by the pitter-patter rains or the thunder storms.
There are many races in different areas of Kerala, but the most famous is the
Nehru trophy boat race held in the punnamada kayal (Punnamada Lake) in Alappuzha
usually conducted on the second Saturday of august .The race is celebrated to commemorate
the visit of the late Prime Minister Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru in 1952. In this
race, majestic boats measuring a length of 30 to 60 meters (over 100 ft) with a
raised prow, are quite impressive and can accommodate around 100 rowers, 4
helmsmen and 25 cheer leaders
The snake boat race is the largest
team sport in the world. Snake boats or chundan vallams as they are locally known,
can carry scores of men. The origin of snake boats goes back to hundreds of
years when the king of Chembakassery, ordered that a war ship be built which
can carry soldiers as well as a canon so that he gets an upper hand in the war
against the king of Kayamkulam .One Mr.Narayanachari designed the chundan
vallam which with its speed and agility won the war for the king of
Chembakassery.Other boats also take part in the boat races.Most of them have
military lineages.
website www.sheelapadmanabhan.com
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