Kasargod to take on Kuttanad

Alappuzha: The monopoly enjoyed by the people of  Kuttanad in the Nehru Trophy Boat Race (NTBR) in Punnamada lake will be challenged by 100 oarsmen from Kasargod  this time.  They will row  the history-maker Nadubhagam Chundan, which was reconstructed last year, in the  64th  boat race  to be held next month.

The Kasargod men will be rowing for the Village Boat Club, Edathua. Mr John P. Abraham, its former captain, said, “we selected all members from Kasargod this year to get perfect rhythm in throwing the paddle into the waters.”  Last year,  the club had brought in  50 oarsmen from Kasargod and they were mixed  with local  men. “As  both  groups  followed different styles  of rowing,  the team was decimated.    They   have  begun trial in Tejaswini river in Kasagod and the Kuttanad camp will begin by July-end,” he said. Last  year,  they had got an ill-equipped St. George Chundan.

The Kasargod men  made their debut  in the Punnamada backwaters with a Veppu Chundan in the 60th anniversary of the race in 2012.    

“This time they could emerge as dark horses as they got a well-equipped  Nadubhagom Chundan.  It was reconstructed with a length of 159 feet under the main ‘asari’ Kozhimukku Sabu Narayanan. It can accommodate 103 oarsmen,  including five  amaram (main rowers) and 10 singers,”  says  Joseph Elamkulam, president, Nadubhagom Boat Club.   Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had jumped  into Nadubhagam Chundan  during the  regatta in 1952.

The oarsmen are being trained under the Vayalkara boat club, which was set up in 1987 by K.C. Girish in Kasargod.  The club, which maintains a boat  with a  capacity to carry 50 people, has won almost all major titles in the northern districts.