.jpg) |
| Rajiv Gandhi Trophy Snake Boat Race |
College is the time with loads of moments to cherish for the rest of the life time. I share an incident during my 4yr graduation studies at Pulinkunnoo
. Pulinkunnoo has indeed occupied a considerable amount of space in my mind. So much I
have spoken about the life there that when ever in TV a backwater scene
is aired my wife says...see here's your Pulinkunnoo.
I remember only Dhanesh now along with a few others who
accompanied that time when we got into this. It was a time when Rajiv Gandhi Trophy Snake boat race was organized in the scenic backwater surrounded Pulinkunnoo. There will be boats representing the nearby wards and clubs. We were given a chance to join the rowing team of
Pulincunnoo 'chundan' ['chundan' means- snake boat] which was not in competition that time due to a
crack in the boat which couldn't be repaired. We were definitely not in our natural senses to accept this offer considering this 'small' crack in
the boat. :).
 |
So
we all took the row saying "eethu vallamada thuzhayendathu"*!, and sat
back to back on the side rail of the very long boat. Due to the crack
the water seeping inside needed to be manually removed using buckets by
the rowers itself. So we all started to row the boat with all the
strength but I am not sure the boat was getting even 1% 'row-power'
contribution from us!. Who cares we all were rowing with full fury. The
entire ambiance was indeed awesome. We couldn't hear anything else but
the loud thud noise made by the the leader standing in the middle of the
boat with his "olakka"*! kind of
wooden rod:).. We all were also shouting no matter it didnt make any
sense. Vanchipattu[2] was everywhere..Aaarpoooy errro errro erro..With each
rowing I was getting wetter and wetter with the water spattering from
the one sitting in front. Tourists were taking photos and crowd were
waving. I thought they are all waving at us only and I too raised my row
and waved back!.
The
demonstration round was planned to start right from the jetty near our
kunchayi chettans shop and go little ahead till jankar cross and return
back. Onward trip we completed and we started rowing back to the finish
line. As we were approaching the finish line may be half way I think, I
don't know from some were the ghosts of vallamkali or evil of vellamadi [getting drunk]
stuck each of the rowers of our boat. We all started
rowing with never before fury just like we were in real race. We just
want to finish at top speed. Meanwhile everyone forgot about removing
the water which is getting filled inside the boat. Almost 100m from
finish line I realized that I am sitting with knee deep water in the boat. I
just jumped and stood up. So did most of us. Some of the localities were
shouting "chadiko*[jump]". I was like.."what" chadiko means were..it was right
in the middle of the lake. We looked face to face. Many started jumping
out of boat but I was not that confident to jump since I was not sure to
reach the other bank. 'Kettalam erangi*' I was sweating even though I was
drenched completely.
 |
| St. Marys Church Pulincunnoo[1] |
That
time a tourist boat came near to the boat to rescue the 'still
thinking' guys like us on the sinking boat. The motor
boat neared at the front end of our boat and even now I don't remember
how i ran over the just half feet wide side rail till the front of the
boat to jump to the rescue boat. As soon as I jumped the snake boat capsized and turned upside down. Later the tourist boat dropped us at the VIP
stands in front of the St Marys Church and we all sat there and saw
the main event of vallam kali* [boat race] in grand.
[1] Pic Source: St Mary's Church Pulincunnoo
[2] Vanchipattu - literal meaning " Boat Song". Its a traditional song sung while rowing the boat to boost the rowers enthusiasm. See this video of vanchipattu
* Malayalam language
