There is a moment during the Nehru Trophy Boat Race when you stop trying to take a photograph.
The boats have appeared on the water, the crowd has suddenly become louder, and hundreds of oars are moving together so quickly that, for a few seconds, it is difficult to look anywhere else. You realise that what you're watching isn't really a performance put together for visitors. The people standing around you are invested in this. They know the boats, they know the teams, and they know exactly what is at stake.
This is Punnamada Lake in Alappuzha, on race day.
Kerala is usually associated with quiet houseboat rides, coconut trees leaning over the backwaters and long, unhurried afternoons. The Nehru Trophy is almost the opposite of that. The same waterways suddenly become a sporting arena, with enormous snake boats cutting through the water and crowds cheering from the banks.
The race has an interesting history too. When Jawaharlal Nehru visited Kerala in 1952, a boat race was organised as part of his welcome. He apparently enjoyed it enough to get onto the winning boat and join the rowers as they headed back towards Alappuzha. A silver trophy was later sent to Kerala, and the race came to be known as the Nehru Trophy Boat Race. The first official edition was held in 1954.
What makes the event particularly interesting, though, is what you notice once you stop looking at it as a tourist attraction. The snake boats are not just beautiful wooden boats brought out for an annual show. There is a whole culture of boat racing around them, and the coordination required from the rowers is extraordinary. When the traditional boat songs begin and everyone starts rowing to the same rhythm, you can understand why this has remained such an important part of life in the region.
If you're planning a Kerala trip around the race, I'd give Alappuzha more than just a few hours. Stay by the backwaters, take the houseboat ride, eat somewhere local and let the town settle into the itinerary. Then go to the race.
The Nehru Trophy is traditionally held on the second Saturday of August, so the exact date is worth checking before planning the trip. And while the race itself lasts only a short while, the atmosphere around it stays with you much longer.
Perhaps that's why this is one Kerala experience I'd recommend even to someone who has already seen the backwaters.
You've seen Kerala when it is quiet. This is Kerala when it is cheering.
"You've seen Kerala when it is quiet. This is Kerala when it is cheering."
— Sobhavi Travel Specialist
