Kerala Boat Races - Outsiders beat the Locals

greenchutney

call the politicians..reserve the race for the locals!!!..is there anything that these foreigners wont do..

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Kerala welcomes the world
August 14, 2006
Rediff

This year, the boat race had some unique participants: a 10-member foreign women's team from Dubai.
It was the first time that a team of foreign women were taking part in the boat race. And they won the women's boat race in this event.

Will they come back?

Yes of course," Amer says. "Next year, we will be here with a full-fledged 33-women team from across the globe. And we will win," she added.

more on the link above [click next..its 4 photo article..]
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love the dress code~ its beautiful..the white and the red. more power to the organizers to open it up.

batistuta

Nice Link Gc,The reservations for Indians in the race will be in
full swing now.!!!!

greenchutney

ha!!..sure can imagine a local commie politician now whipping up a issue!

tell you what though, one of my first thoughts looking at the photo was, how glad iam they kept the dress code. i think it looks beautiful, fitting well with the surroundings, the traditions.

its not easy to do it (row) with that much clothes on i am sure especially with the high humidity, the relative heat for the outsiders and more so with all these high tech, breathable, body huggers what not available these days to ease that......

batistuta

Yes ,and they do look good in the sarees.Hope they wear the same
thing next year also when they do participate in the race.
Bit off topic ,but the white saree which women from Kerala wear
is quite nice and it blends nicely with the surroundings too
as was the case in Kollur Mookambika temple yesterday whre there
where many women from Kerala.Sandal paste on the forehead helps
too.

haritha

tourism for cultural exchange and know each other in close quarters great

Malkers

Well having just watched this rain soaked races I can tell you exactly why the foreign ladies won it.

If any of you have lived in India long enough to have a useless maid, I've had two, then imagine these Indian ladies rowing with the same kind of effort they put in to mopping a floor or flicking that little broom around.

Honestly, thats how it was, just flicking their oars in the water and all completely out of time with each other. Really didnt look like a team that had so say been practising for 2 months before the event.

Watching the main event races with the huge boats and 100 odd men in each was quite something, brilliant timing and management and some pretty awesome speed too.

I watched the whole thing from a private boat I'd hired with some friends, when we pulled up to our mooring the water was clean and tidy but of course two hours later it was comletely filled with plastic bottles and biryani trays, lovely way to treat God's own country eh?? Ruined the day for me that did

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Personal Travel Blog

enigma76

Mind you, the women were mostly European expatriates based in Dubai..ah..can never imagine the day when the LOCAL women will participate in such an event

Nick-H

Who were the champions?

I know one of the owners of one boat, but forget the name. Their boat won over quite a few years,but hasn't done so well the last couple.

haritha

Kumarakom boat club

Malkers

Ah that figures, the next morning we were driving through Kumarakom and saw a boat in the narrow canal and a huge display of trophies on the bank! I hope they didn't have to row all the way back though!

haritha

Motor boats tow them

Nick-H

I think my friend's boat is called aomething like Karichel (I'm probably way off and I don't have Mrs N to read me the name from a photo of the boat).

Unfortunately they lost in the first round, the year I was there, which rather reduced my interest in the rest of the competition.

So, it was a wet day? Sounds like you had a nice time, though, Malkers. Any more description would be nice.

haritha

Karicheal is not on the winners Array

Payippadu Chundan' of Kumarakom Boat Club retained the Nehru trophy by becoming champions in the 54th Nehru trophy boat race held in the Punnamada lake captained by Raju Vadakkath, won the scintillating snake boat event, in which 15 other chundan vallams (snake boats) participated.

Sree Ganesh Chundan of Jesus Boat Club, Kollam, captained by Bensy, came second while Champakkulam Chundan of Alleppey Town Boat Club powered by Kalavur N Gopinath won the third prize.

greenchutney

thats really sad with plastic and styrofoam . hopefully there is some cleanup/salvage boat that goes around clearing the waters after these events. doubt it but does anyone know?..maybe its worthwhile malkers dashing a letter to the organizers or the local newspaper. what say you?

well if its god's own country, then the gods should be responsible for cleaning it right

haritha

Kindly send an email to the minsiter for tourism and tourism department . Also write a letter to the editor of The Hindu as well as the The Indian Express. We are trying to have Responsible Tourism in Kerala . So an opinion from the consumers of the Kerala Tourism should will have some effect.Please do write .

www.keralatoursim.org

http://www.thehindu.com/


http://www.expressindia.com/