The backwaters of Alleppey is the venue for the Nehru Trophy Boat Race held on the second Saturday of August every year. This year, the race was not conducted as the state was under an emergency situation because of the traumatic flood. This year the Nehru Trophy Boat Race Society has decided to reschedule the race to the 10th of November 2018. It is a sign of Kerala bouncing back to what they were before the floods hit the state. Kerala has a beautiful story to tell about her people and how they fought the terrible floods of 2018.
The first Prime Minister of independent, late Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru once visited Alleppey; he cruised through the backwaters from Kottayam to Alleppey. The local crowd had organized a small snake boat race to honor the prime minister. He was thrilled to see the excitement in the air and jumped into the winning boat. The same year he had sent a silver trophy for the winners of the race organized for him. Since then, it became an even and it was named after the first Prime Minister of India, Sri Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. It is held on the second week of August every year at the Vembanad backwaters of Alleppey town.
There are Nehru Trophy Boat Race 2018 tickets available online for travelers who are bound to Alleppey for the race. Guests have a space reserved for them at the Pavilion at the finishing point from where guests could see the boats coming from far. The competition is organized in the afternoon and guests will have to move to the pavilion to occupy the seats before the race, once they are in the pavilion, they can return only after the race, which happens mostly by evening. The best way to witness the snake boats are during the trial runs or the rehearsals. There kind of opportunity where you get to see during the rehearsals is unmatched even to the real race. The real competition is a thrill for the villagers, but after the initial heats, the excitement of the snake boats tend to diminish.
Most teams that take part in the boat race today are from different clubs located in different backwater villages. In most cases, they are being sponsored or funded through crowdfunding campaigns. The rehearsals start a month before the race date, it happens every day except for the previous day of the race, which is declared as a rest day. The rehearsals start early in the morning end as soon as the sun becomes harsh. The daytime is used for rest and the rehearsal restarts by evening until sunset. One would get the real vibes of the race, the rhythms, and the thrill even during the race rehearsals. A guided rehearsal tour will give you a more boarder idea as to what is happening out there, the signals, the oarsmen, the rhythms, the songs, the beats, and even the seating arrangement are all part of the rehearsal tour of this hundred feet long boat. This gives you a chance to see them is very close proximity and also be with them for breakfast, nothing like that!
Should you require more information as to how to plan the snake boat race rehearsal tour, do let us know. you can contact us at hello@greenearthtrails.com