If it is passion for the sport that keeps them going during the boat race season amidst many a financial difficulty, it is even more an uphill task to keep the critical component, the snake boat itself, in fighting shape over the next nine months. Some do it on their own, others do it in partnership, while there are also cases where the entire village turns ‘shareholders’ to keep the ‘Chundan Vallom’ in the Punnamada, Paippad and Chambakkulam waters. The boat racing season in Kerala starts in August and winds up by October.
“It requires at least Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 2 lakh annually to maintain a snake boat in its benchmark condition. Of course, the cost rises phenomenally, if a major repair and refit job comes your way - something that invariably occurs once in every five-six years. That would set us back by at least Rs 20 lakh. We keep these boats ship shape braving many difficulties as this has got ingrained in our blood,” says Shyam Roy, owner of Alappadan Chundan, which has won the Nehru Trophy twice.
Roy, who inherited the boat from his father PN Sudhakaran, a great fan of the game, is one of only seven individual snake boat owners in Kerala today. Of the 23 boats, 11 are owned by the villages (karakkar) and five by groups or societies.
“Presently, the Nehru Trophy Boat Race Society (NTBRS) and the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation give as annual grant
`25,000 each to all boats,” points out P Reghunath, secretary of the Kerala State Boat Racing Association. As on date, there are 23 snake boats known as Chundan Valloms, in the two districts of Alappuzha and Kottayam.
Building a Chundan Vallom over 10 months today would cost not less than `40 lakh as found out by Ayaparambu Pandi Chundanvalla Samithi that put out a new boat last week. “It took 10 months for a 15-strong team to complete the work of the 123-feet-long boat. As many as 500 shareholders with at least one share worth Rs 2,500 contributed,” says N Rajappan Achary, secretary of the Samithi.
He echoed the views of Shyam regarding the struggle they face to maintain the boat, saying though it is a costly affair they keep it going out of prestige.
Recently at least 10 snake boats had to undergo routine repairs, costing up to Rs 8 lakh each. However, a major repair job can easily cost as much as it would to build a new one. For instance, this year Ayaparambu NSS Karayogam spent nearly Rs 30 lakh for renovating their boat, Valiya Divanji.
“We took a loan - Rs 10 lakh from a bank and Rs 5 lakh from the NTBRS. We managed the rest with the savings in our account. Of course, it is a matter of pride to keep our Chundan in good repair,” says R Viswanatha Pillai, secretary, Ayaparambu NSS Karayogam. (Concluded)
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