ALAPPUZHA: The famed Kavalam Chundan of the Nehru trophy boat race now lies in ruins due to years of neglect. A five-time winner of the trophy, it had inspired some immortal film songs composed by Vayalar-Devarajan team for the film Kavalam Chundan in 1967 and for Simhaasanam in 1979 by Srekumaran Thampi. One of the most popular chandans in the fifties and sixties, which won the trophies in 1954, ’56, ’58 (shared with Napoleon) ’60 and ’62, it has been out of the race since 2010.
Owned by the Kochupurakkal family in Kuttanad, Kavalam began its water journey in 1952. The Chundan bought by Kochupurakkal Ouseph Thomman in 1942 from Kainakari is now under the custody of his descendants. It is kept in the shed built at the deserted Kocupurakkal compound at Kavalam. The Kavalam villagers are the local guardians of this jewel of a boat.
Vinod Karichal, a boat race buff, said the Kalapurakkal family had disintegrated with some settled in Malabar and the others abroad. For years it lay like a dead snake in the Kochupurakkal property. They wanted to keep it as a family asset and the shed was renovated spending Rs 1 lakh. The frame of the boat is deteriorating due to lack of protection. A new Kavalam Chundan can be built if the villagers come together, he said. The Kavalam team was one of the finest boat clubs in Kuttanad, but it has been dissolved and the members have joined other teams.
