KOZHIKODE: The mother and the daughter are so similar from the body language and athleticism to the smouldering competitiveness in their cores. Meet Leena Ramesh, a housewife and her daughter Rashmi Ramesh, a 20-year-old nursing student at Wayanad Institute of Medical Sciences who are getting them prepared for this year’s Malabar River Festival - International White Water Kayaking Championship scheduled from July 20 to 23 at Kodenchery near here.
When it comes to the mother and daughter competition, it is the girl who has helped and trained the mother in kayaking.
For this year’s competition, Leena will be competing for the beginners’ whereas Reshmi will be trying her luck in the intermediate category. They will be competing with more than 50 kayakers who have reached Kodenchery from different parts of the world. “My daughter competed last year, and I was there watching all her training programmes conducted by Madras Fun Tools,” said Leena.
"Since then I started training for a time pass and also my love for white water. A little worried but still I am ready to compete with other kayakers as my daughter is boosting my confidence now and then." A similar duo, Chandra Lay and his son Sandeep, has come all the way from Nepal. Lay has been into kayaking for many years and has been training his 20-year-old son since childhood. The fifth edition of the championship is being organised as part of the Malabar River Festival 2017 by the Kerala Tourism, District Tourism Promotion Council, and the Kozhikode District Panchayat with the Kerala Kayak Akademi and Madras Fun Tools. More than 50 kayakers from different parts of the world have registered so far, and the organisers are expecting around 150.
