Singing oarsmen of the war-boats.....

100 feet long war-boats and 100 singing oarsmen in each boat will set River Pamba on fire this July.

That is what the Champakulam Boat Race is all about. Originally designed for Wars, these boats are currently keeping the Kerala boating heritage alive through boat races and water carnivals. The Champakulam Boat Race shall officially open the boat-race season in Kerala.

Kerala’s oldest and most popular and much awaited snake boat race – ‘Vallam Kali’ will grace Kerala’s third longest river – ‘Pamba’ which is also regarded as the Southern Ganges – ‘Dakshin Ganga’. Champakulam is a village in Alapuzha District in kerala and is said to be the rice bowl of Kerala – being a part of Kuttanad. River Pamba flows through the middle of Champakulam village. Alleppey (Alappuzha) – titled ‘the Venice of the East’ - is just 16 kms northwest of Champakulam.

‘Moolam Nakshatra’ of the Malayalam month ‘Midhunam’ is when this 500-year old Boat Race tradition would be held – it falls on the 3^rd of June in 2012. The ‘Rajapramukhan’ Trophy would be awarded to the winning team.

Elaborately and intricately decorated boats and water-floats will fill up River Pamba this day. ‘Vanchipattu’ – the song of the Oarsmen which facilitates rhythmic and coordinated movements of rowing the boats is an interesting aspect of the thrilling boat race – ‘Chundan Vallam’ Race. Hundreds of locals and tourists flood the Pamba River banks to watch and cheer the boats in one of the most exciting sports events in the country.

Champakulam Boat Race is not your regular run-of-the-mill leisurely race. It takes months of practice and stamina-building to row this war-boat – much less win the race. It’s a high-energy race which is found intriguing by most foreigners who witness this race that they even try their hand at it post the race. This truly tests your fitness levels.

Pix: Keralatourism.org; Vembanad Lake.blogspot; alleppeyboathouse.com;