Snake Boats during a practice session A trophy with a signature. On the second Saturday of August there occurs a grand water festival in Alleppey (Alappuzha), which has risen to the national festival of this part of the land. This boat-festival had its origin in 1952 the then Prime Minister of India; Mr. Jawaharlal Nehru happened to see this boat festival and he was so thrilled by the charm of boat race and he climbed on a boat and traveled in it to the town; neglecting the concerns of the security ring. On his return to New Delhi he sent a model of a ‘Snake Boat’ (known as chundan vallom) made of silver as the trophy for the winning boat. This ever rolling trophy has the signature of that great man. A season of boat races. There are several boat races in Kerala like Champakulam, Pulinkunnu, Aranmula Cheruthana, etc but the Nehru Trophy Boat Race held at the Punnamada Lake is the most famous and popular among them. Each boat race has a history of its own like the Aranmula where there is only a procession and no competition of speed; it is essentially a festival of the temple in which the idol of the temple is ceremoniously taken for people to see. The Champakulam boat race is the oldest among them (it can compete with the oldest races in the world held consecutively for years. Other boat races held during the season are Neerettupuram Boat Race, Rajiv Gandhi Boat Race, PulimkunnuKaruvatta Boat Race, and the Haripad Mannar Boat Race.
