Venue : Punnamada Lake - Alappuzha District - Kerala State India
Alappuzha's Nehru Trophy Boat Race is an unmissable event which began
in 1952 when India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, visited
Alappuzha. It is now a major event held in the afternoon of the second
Saturday in August and features the gigantic snake-boats of Kerala,
known as Chundans.
The race has grown into Alappuzha's single most important tourist
event, with boats being sponsored by different villages. Competition
is intense as the boats, with more than 100 rowers in each, battle
it out to the accompaniment of rousing music.
Chundans (snake-boats) are an impressive sight, measuring more than
100 feet in length, with a raised prow. They were called snake-boats
by the former colonial rulers, who based the name on a native boat
found in Norway, although Kerala's Chundans bear little resemblance
to their European namesakes.
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