ALAPPUZHA, 4 August 2007 — The countdown has begun for the annual Nehru Trophy Boat Race on Punnamada Lake in Alappuzha, the Kerala town with picturesque canals, backwaters, beaches, and lagoons which was described as Venice of the East by Lord Curzon, the British Viceroy to India early last century.

The 55th edition of Kerala’s biggest boating event would take place on Aug. 11 and people of Kuttanad, the region also called the rice bowl of Kerala, are in a joyous mood as preparations have started. For the people of each village in Kuttanad, a victory at this race for their village boat is something to be celebrated for months to come.

Carpenters are giving finishing touches to the Chundan Vallams, the snake boats, and other participating boats while rowers have begun rehearsing for the event.

Of the 55 participating boats, 18 are snake boats and the rest medium ones. The major attraction of the boat race is the competition of snake boats, the chundans measuring over 100 feet in length, with a raised prow.

All the villages in the region are already in a festive mood despite heavy monsoon showers. Last year, an all-women team from the UAE also participated in the race for the first time.

The tracks and heats have been decided and schoolchildren will take part in a competition for drawing and coloring Punnara the Mynah, the logo of the 2007 edition of the event, today. A competition in vanchippattu (the boatman’s song) will be held on Thursday.

The most competitive and popular of all boat races, it is held on the second Saturday of August every year. On the day of the race, the tranquil lakefront will be transformed into a sea of humanity with an estimated 200,000 spectators, including foreign tourists, converging on the banks of the lake.

The history of the Nehru Trophy Boat Race is associated with the visit of late Jawaharlal Nehru, the then Prime Minister of India, to Alappuzha in 1952. He chanced a trip from Kottayam to Alappuzha by boat, through water-logged Kuttanad, accompanied by a pageantry of boats.

In that race of snake boats, Nadubhagam Chundan came first. Thrilled and excited on the performance of the oarsmen, he jumped out of the security cordon into the boat, as his daughter Indira Gandhi and her sons Rajiv and Sanjay, looked anxiously.

On his return to Delhi, Nehru donated a Silver Trophy, which is a replica of a snake boat placed on a wooden abacus with his signature.

The district administration then decided to make it an annual competition to win the Prime Minister’s Trophy besides other prizes. The festival begins with a procession of the snake boats.

The snake boats and the smaller varieties of Kerala race boats like the churulan, veppu and oadi move in a formation down the 1.4 km stretch of the lake as the sturdy villagers sing the vanchipattu. The snake boats then line up at the starting point for the race.

Preparations begin several weeks in advance.

The snake boat is smeared with sardine oil for smooth passage through water, the best oarsmen are selected and the practice sessions begin. Around 150 oarsmen, who would represent the village, take the vow to observe strict abstinence and celibacy.

Villagers take turn to feed the athletes during the practice at mass feasts on the riverbanks.