Alappuzha is the tourist capital of Kerala Home to the famed backwaters that attract visitors from all over the globe. Canals and lagoons embrace Alappuzha. There are part of Alappuzha and the surrounding countryside that is easier reached by boat than any other form of transport. Boats are an everyday fact of life Boats of all sizes and shapes perform many tasks from taking children to school and commuters to work to being floating luxury accommodations for tourists. It is little wonder then that the chief cultural celebration of the region involves boats. The biggest of them all is the Nehru Trophy Boat Race which began in 1952 Nehru was so impressed with the boat race when he visited Alappuzha, that he instituted an annual race with a silver trophy. Today, it is considered a great honor to win the Nehru Trophy Boat Race, and surrounding villages complete. To claim the top title. The mightiest of the boats are the Chundan vellums or the snake boats. More than a hundred feet long, they often carry a crew of over a hundred people. They were once the war-boats of the region, and are the fastest and most agile of all the racing boats. These boats are fielded by boat clubs from the surrounding villages. Having a Chundan Vallam in the race is an expensive affair, and the villagers are the stakeholders of the boat clubs. There are often more than a hundred stakeholders, and the put in the money needed for a boat. The high cost of having a Chundan Vallam in the race includes building or buying the snake boat itself. The larger cost comes with hiring a crew and putting them to practice. The crew, mostly composed of local rowers, are hired for the days the practice and are trained and fed as well. Experienced captains and coaches are also hired to turn the part-time sportsmen into a winning team. Practice and training take four to six weeks, with each day of training costing Rs 40,000 to 65,000. Any way you look at it, there are no financial returns on spending on the race. Spending almost Rs 1 crore every year. For prize money of a few lakhs does not add up. “So why do villagers put their hard-earned money into the boat clubs?” For an answer to that question, we should look at the stands. Fans turn out in thousands to support their village boat clubs, and the cheering and singing get quite competitive. A win for a Boat Club brings prestige and honor to the whole village. For the next year, they can lord over their peers from all other villages, and they will sing songs and tell tales of their boat’s victory to their grandchildren. The return from the race is not measured in terms of money but in terms of prestige. It is bragging rights over whose boat is fastest, whose rowers are strongest and whose captain the wiliest. It takes a whole village to put a boat in the race, and they do so to have a shot at the glory of being crowned champions. Group NTBR is an initiative to create enthusiasm and to inculcate the spirit of boat racing amongst the people. Our aim is to collect, archive and provide the history related to boat races and also provide updates about the different boat races happening in Kerala. Started as a Facebook group by a group of boat race enthusiasts back in 2011, Our mission of popularizing the boat races of Kerala among people will continue. th-cam.com/video/PIqUVQ5p_Bs/w-d-xo.html
Peacefull, traditional, beautiful, patriotic, healthy... All the best. May God bless Kerala always.
Excellent Unity. Really. Nice.
Alappuzha is the tourist capital of Kerala Home to the famed backwaters that attract visitors from all over the globe. Canals and lagoons embrace Alappuzha. There are part of Alappuzha and the surrounding countryside that is easier reached by boat than any other form of transport. Boats are an everyday fact of life Boats of all sizes and shapes perform many tasks from taking children to school and commuters to work to being floating luxury accommodations for tourists. It is little wonder then that the chief cultural celebration of the region involves boats. The biggest of them all is the Nehru Trophy Boat Race which began in 1952
Nehru was so impressed with the boat race when he visited Alappuzha, that he instituted an annual race with a silver trophy. Today, it is considered a great honor to win the Nehru Trophy Boat Race, and surrounding villages complete. To claim the top title.
The mightiest of the boats are the Chundan vellums or the snake boats. More than a hundred feet long, they often carry a crew of over a hundred people. They were once the war-boats of the region, and are the fastest and most agile of all the racing boats. These boats are fielded by boat clubs from the surrounding villages. Having a Chundan Vallam in the race is an expensive affair, and the villagers are the stakeholders of the boat clubs. There are often more than a hundred stakeholders, and the put in the money needed for a boat.
The high cost of having a Chundan Vallam in the race includes building or buying the snake boat itself. The larger cost comes with hiring a crew and putting them to practice. The crew, mostly composed of local rowers, are hired for the days the practice and are trained and fed as well. Experienced captains and coaches are also hired to turn the part-time sportsmen into a winning team. Practice and training take four to six weeks, with each day of training costing Rs 40,000 to 65,000.
Any way you look at it, there are no financial returns on spending on the race. Spending almost Rs 1 crore every year. For prize money of a few lakhs does not add up.
“So why do villagers put their hard-earned money into the boat clubs?”
For an answer to that question, we should look at the stands. Fans turn out in thousands to support their village boat clubs, and the cheering and singing get quite competitive.
A win for a Boat Club brings prestige and honor to the whole village. For the next year, they can lord over their peers from all other villages, and they will sing songs and tell tales of their boat’s victory to their grandchildren. The return from the race is not measured in terms of money but in terms of prestige. It is bragging rights over whose boat is fastest, whose rowers are strongest and whose captain the wiliest. It takes a whole village to put a boat in the race, and they do so to have a shot at the glory of being crowned champions.
Group NTBR is an initiative to create enthusiasm and to inculcate the spirit of boat racing amongst the people. Our aim is to collect, archive and provide the history related to boat races and also provide updates about the different boat races happening in Kerala. Started as a Facebook group by a group of boat race enthusiasts back in 2011, Our mission of popularizing the boat races of Kerala among people will continue.
th-cam.com/video/PIqUVQ5p_Bs/w-d-xo.html
Thank you
Wow 🤩 boat⛵ race
Absolutely gorgeous 😍
Which chunden was the winner of 2019
Hii sara
❤❤❤❤
Thank you
E pravishyam Allu arjun undavum ❤️❤️❤️
Thank you
P