A dear friend of mine, Captain K.G. Thomas who ran the Cochin Shipping Company invited me to watch the famous Snake Boat Race, at Champakulam. The best way to watch the race is if you are on the water, and so he had rented a motor launch. I invited the Jauhars but Promie was not feeling adventurous and decided to stay behind. These races are a thrill to watch with 100 plus oarsmen propelling a ‘snake’ boat which sat just a couple of inches above the water. Check out this link for the fascinating history of the boat racing tradition.
Champakulam Boat Race 

The enjoyment of these races is enhanced with the help of some chilled Beer and so Govind and I stocked up an ice box full of Golden Eagle beer which we gladly shared with Capt. Thomas and his friends. We threw in a couple of bottles of Honey Bee brandy also into the boot of GKJ’s Ambassador car.

We could drive right up to the jetty where our motor launch was moored as we had Driver Latif with us. Capt. Thomas welcomed us warmly and I introduced Govind to him and his friends.

Capt. K.G. Thomas, or Kollamkullam George Thomas, came from a traditional Catholic family in Kanjirapally, Kerala. They were land owners with Rubber estates, Spices and so on. Later, I was instrumental in adding a Tea Estate – Twyford- to their land holding. Going to Sea was the last thing any traditional family would want for their scion but K.G. Thomas was strong willed and was allowed to train at ‘Dufferin’, the country’s merchant navy training establishment in Bombay.  After a few years at Sea he bought a couple of ships and started a Shipping company. For some reason we hit it off and we became great buddies!

We soon cast off and our motor boat moved to the scene of the action. There were people seated on both banks of the river where the races were to be held, as well as, boats – fancy powered ones to small canoes along the 2 mile course. There were loudspeakers blaring, flags and buntings fluttering, and a melee all around us. It was without doubt a high energy event! There were several races in different categories. The two main types of race boat were called Chundan Vallom, which was long and sleek, while the other called Parinthuvallen (Eagle tail) which was slightly shorter in length but sleek as well, but the stern of the boat rose a few metres above the water, shaped like the tail of an eagle.

Before roads were laid most of the travel in Kerala was in boats via the rivers and canals. People built homes on the banks of rivers and waterways. Everyone had canoes called Valloms of varying sizes. There were Valloms to transport people, Valloms to fish from, carry bulk cargo like Paddy, coconut, tapioca and such produce. These were transported in huge Kettu-valloms to the markets which developed along these waterways.

The more prominent families also kept valloms for racing. I remember, a long boat-shed at my maternal grandmothers’ family home in Mepral, with a Chundan Vallom stored upside down. It was a prized possession and was maintained regularly with the application of a mixture consisting of coconut oil and egg white, rubbed in every three months or so to ensure that the boat would glide through water with the least amount of resistance.

Before the first race began we were slaking our thirst and eating choice Malayalee preparations such as Fried Prawn, Duck Roast, Tapioca and Fish Curry provided by our host. Boy, were we in a good mood! I was happy to see GKJ enjoying all this hugely.

I would invite the reader to click on this Boat Race link to get a feel, but it cannot replicate the real thing. The sights and sounds of a Kerala Snake boat race has to be experienced live! There’s a ton of things to see and do in Kerala and the snake boat race would be high on that list.

After the races we were in such elevated spirits that Govind and I decided to drive on to Cape Comorin (now called Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu) to watch the sunset! Turn the page for that story…