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Champakulam Boat Race

Start Date : 30-Jun-2007
End Date : 30-Jun-2007
Venue : Champakulam Lake, Kerala
City : Champakkulam
Country : India
Category : Kerala

Champakulam Boat Race, the first boat race of the harvest season of Kerala, is held on the Champakulam Lake in Alappuzha, Kerala. The race takes place in the Malayalam month Midhunam on the moolam day, the day of the installation of the deity at the Sree Krishna Temple at Ambalappuzha. It is the oldest as well as the most famous snake boat race in Kerala. There is a legend associated with the Champakkulam Boat Race of Kerala, which goes that Maharaja Devanarayana of Chempakasseri, on the advice of a royal priest, built a temple at Ambalappuzha.

However, just before the deity was about to be installed, the king was told that the idol was inauspicious. As a solution to this problem, the ministers of the king suggested that the idol of Sree Krishna, presented to Arjuna by the Lord Krishna himself, be brought from the Karikulam temple in Kurichi. The ministers went to Kurichi to bring the idol. While returning they stopped at Champakulam to spend the night and perform a puja. From there, boats of the entire area accompanied the idol in colorful, ceremonial procession through the lake to the Temple.

As a celebration of that moment, the entire procession is re-enacted every year with the much fervor. A convoy of water floats, boats decorated with colorful parasols and performing arts delights the onlookers before the Champakulam Boat Race. Thereafter, a proper race is held in various stages for various categories of boats. Other attractions of the race include Vanchipattu, the song of the oarsmen, and the breathtaking Chundanvallom race.


Getting there:
Nearest railway station: Alappuzha. Nearest airport: Cochin International Airport, about 85 km from Alappuzha town.