PATHANAMTHITTA: When traditional Arpo irro chants reverberate across Professor’s Lake in Brampton City in August every year, they do not simply signal the conduct of an event of the Malayali community in Canada, but mark the celebration of sportsman spirit, and Kerala culture and heritage at an international arena.
Behind it all is Kurian Prakkanam, a Keralite and Business Ambassador of Brampton City, Ontario province. For the past 15 years, he has been playing a prominent role in organising ‘Brampton Boat Race’, modelled after Kerala’s famous Nehru Trophy, in Canada.
Nooranakuzhiyil Kurian Baby, aka Kurian Prakkanam from Pathanamthitta, migrated to Canada in 1993 eventually becoming the president of the Brampton Malayali Samajam that promotes the cultural, educational and social activities of the Malayali community. During Onam season in 2009, he thought about bringing back the vibrant sport from his hometown to Canada, his second home.
The boat race started gaining momentum in the Land of the Maple Leaf. “As many as 34 teams participated last year. At a time, four to five teams can compete in the lake, a 65-acre spring-fed artificial water body in Brampton,” Kurian said.
There are teams of provincial ministries, MPs, ministers, police, and fire force participating in the competitions, he said, highlighting the acceptance of a rare regional boat race in a different part of the globe.
Since ensuring availability of traditional snake boats of Kerala in Canada is tough, the organisers depend on Chinese Dragon Boats, which they rent from the tourist spot at Niagara Falls. “Our boat race is the first such initiative out of Kerala. Though several others across the globe emulated us, ours remains the largest and oldest boat race in a foreign country with massive participation of teams from entire North America,” he said.
Initially, it was a tough journey getting permission for such an activity, he said. Also, there were just four boats.
Manoj Karatha, a Malayali real estate businessman in Canada, has been sponsoring the race for the past 15 years, Kurian said. Kurian’s wife Mini and children Keran, Hellan, Rashon extend all support to his initiatives.