As the 72nd Nehru Trophy Boat Race makes a splash in Alappuzha on Saturday, another boat-racing tradition is being readied to stir the waters off Kochi.
How many of you have heard of the Gothuruthu Vallamkali?
Here, there are no ‘chundan vallams’. The stars are the lower-slung ‘iruttukuthy’ boats, curved at both ends and built for the island’s narrow waterways.
For nearly nine decades, their oars have kept alive a race that is integral to Gothuruthu’s identity.
Gothuruthu was once owned by the Paliath Achans, hereditary prime ministers of the erstwhile Cochin kingdom, who used the fertile island as grazing ground for cattle.
The island’s name is believed to have evolved from a combination of ‘go’, meaning cattle, and ‘thuruth’, meaning island — the “island of cattle”.
According to islanders, the tradition dates to 1937, when boats assembled here for a ceremonial offering during the Gothuruth Kadalvathuruth Holy Cross Church festival. A year later, the boats returned to the water to race, marking the beginning of the Gothuruthu Vallamkali.
The racecourse runs through a tributary of the Periyar, with the Holy Cross Church on one side and the Moothakunnam Sree Narayanamangalam Temple on the other.
On race day, spectators line the banks as the boats slice through the narrow waterway.
“The ‘iruttukuthy’ sits lower in the water than a chundan and has curved ends at both sides. Its older form was linked to the military history of the region,” explains Jibin George M, vice-president of the Gothuruthu Sports & Arts Club (SAC) and a physical education teacher at St Sebastian’s HSS here.
“These boats suited narrow and shallow waterways and were used by soldiers of yore for quick mobilisation and assaults. The boats that race today, however, are not exactly the same. Their structure has been modified to suit competitions while retaining the basic features.”
The crew has changed, too. “In the early years, the rowers were mostly people from Gothuruthu and nearby places.
Over time, the vallamkali became more competitive. Clubs began bringing experienced rowers from Alappuzha-Kuttanad,” says Jibin.
In the early days, the race began from Kottapuram in Thrissur district.
“It was like a marathon. But after some accidents occurred, the starting point was shifted to the northern end of Gothuruthu, along a shorter stretch — 514.16m long. Boats compete two at a time,” explains Sunny Henry Puthezhath, a long-standing executive member of SAC. “There are A (35 rowers per boat) and B (25 rowers) categories.”
Several islanders speak of preserving and popularising such events.
“Ernakulam district once had several local boat races. Paravur, for instance, had two competitions on opposite sides of the river,” notes Gothuruthu SAC secretary Antony Thomas, who has been documenting the vallamkali through photography and videography.
“Over time, financial difficulties forced such races to stop. Funding remains an issue. We have somehow managed to keep this tradition alive. I hope the next generation also carries this legacy forward.”
This year’s church festival season will see Gothuruthu host its first ‘tug of oar’ on September 6, where two boats will be tethered by a rope and their crews will row in opposite directions. The ‘vallamkali’ will follow on September 20.
This article was reported by Nidhi Vinod