KOCHI: The much-celebrated Indira Gandhi Boat Race (IGBR) is all set to stage a grand comeback to Kochi this weekend after a long gap of 27 years. The resumption of the boat race was made possible after the Tourism Department decided to organise the event as part of the fifth round of the ongoing Champions Boat League (CBL) under the IGBR title.
Of the 12 races of the CBL featuring nine snake boats, the Kochi leg will be held on a 960-metre stretch of the backwaters along the first Goshree Bridge and Marine Drive boat jetty on October 5.The organisers are busy setting up a temporary pavilion at Marine Drive for the event, as the CBL boats are slated to reach the city soon from Piravom, where the previous leg was held.If the races at Piravom were uniquely upstream (the Moovattupuzha river), the heats and finals in Kochi CBL will be held on plain waters on a shallow stretch of the Arabian Sea.
Kerala Tourism joint director K Rajkumar said villages around Kochi have the tradition of conducting boat races soon after the monsoon. “Besides Piravom, we have Champakkara, Poothotta and Gothuruth holding boat races in Ernakulam district. They mainly organise races of smaller traditional boats like ‘odi’ and ‘iruttukuthi’,” he said. “The long snake boats with 100-odd rowers in each of them will be the major attraction of the Kochi CBL leg. There will be competition for small boats and kayaks as well,” he said.
Despite having a grand beginning, the IGBR ceased to be an annual event within a few years of its start. The random editions went on to be held till 1992, after which there has been a break till date (barring a couple of boat races but not under the IGBR title).
The Kochi CBL leg will also host a variety of other entertainment programmes, including music shows by the famed ‘Avial’ and a local band of college students.