The harmonious strains of vanchipattu, cheering crowds and display of physical prowess are all set to return to the fore as the traditional boat race (Vallam Kali) season is round the corner.
The season of boat races in Kerala will begin with the Champakulam Moolam boat race on June 28. Moolam Race Committee chairman A.V. Murali said that a total of 19 boats including six snakeboats (chundan vallam) and 13 smaller boats would participate in this year’s race.
Police team
The Moolam boat race will see for the first time a police team participating in a boat race in the State. The team will contest in the Mahadevikad Kattilthekkethu chundan. Other snakeboats to contest for the ‘Raja Pramukhan Trophy’ are Cheruthana chundan, Nadubhagam chundan, Karuvatta Sree Vinayakan, St. George chundan and Champakulam chundan. The police team includes 130 oarsmen selected from Alappuzha, Kollam, Kottayam and Ernakulam districts, working in reserve camps and police stations.
Races will also be held in the categories of veppu ‘A’ grade, veppu ‘B’ grade, iruttu kuthi ‘A’ grade and iruttu kuthi ‘B’ grade categories. The moolam boat race, though associated with religious observances, is known to present a picture of harmony as people irrespective of religion and caste take part in the event.
Following the Moolam boat race, the State will witness a host of races in various districts in the coming months. The Tourism Department has already announced that it will launch an Indian Premier League model boat race league in the State this year. The Kerala Boat Race League will commence with the Nehru Trophy Boat Race at Punnamada Lake in Alappuzha and conclude with the President’s Trophy in Kollam.
The league will have 12 races, with the Nehru Trophy Boat Race to be held on August 11 to be considered as the qualification race for the league. Out of the 20 snakeboats that participate in the Nehru trophy, nine will qualify for the succeeding league races.
The league races will be held at Punnamada, Pulinkunnu, Kainakary, Karuvatta, Mavelikara and Kayamkulam in Alappuzha district, Piravom and Poothotta in Ernakulam district, Kollam and Kallada in Kollam district, Kottappuram in Thrissur district and Thazhathangadi in Kottayam district. The league races will be organised as water festivals in each of these places.
