The Indira Gandhi Boat Race takes place as a very colorful water sports-cum-festival held every year. It is held in the backwaters of

Cochin Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

city of Kerala during the last week of December. It is popular all over Kerala and various boat race competitions like

Nehru Trophy Boat Race The Nehru Trophy Boat Race is an annual ''vallam kali'' held in the Punnamada Lake near Alappuzha, Kerala, India. ''Vallam Kali'' or ''Vallamkali''y literally means boat play/game, but can be translated to boat race in English. The most popula ...

Champakulam Moolam Boat Race The Champakulam Moolam Boat Race is one of the oldest vallam kali (snake boat race) (after the Aranmula Boat Race) in Kerala state of south India. The race is held on the Pamba River, River Pamba on Moolam day (according to the Malayalam Era M.E ...

, Aranmula Utharatti Vallamkali, Pippappad Jalotsavam and

Kumarakom Boat Race The Sree Narayana Jayanthi Vallam Kali or Boat Race, at Kumarakom, Kerala is held in September every year during Onam festival. More than 1,000 oarsmen in boats of different sizes and shapes participate. Even though snake boats participate in thi ...

are held here. The trophy of this race was started in memory of

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 ...

, the late Prime Minister of India. What makes the race so unique is the sporting spirit of the contestants. Around 150, each of them representing a different village, vowed to follow strict rules during the game. Feeding them during practice sessions and on festival days is the responsibility of villagers or well-to-do people, who often, vow to bear the entire expense. Preparations for the Indira Gandhi Boat Race begin several weeks in advance. Thousands of people crowd along the waters to cheer the participants of the boat race. Most of the races organized in Kerala have interesting legends behind how they originated. The snake boats are smeared with

sardine "Sardine" and "pilchard" are common names for various species of small, oily forage fish in the herring family Clupeidae. The term "sardine" was first used in English during the early 15th century, a folk etymology says it comes from the Ital ...

oil for a smooth passage through the water. Usually, a snake boat is manned by four helmsmen, 25 singers and 100 to 125 oarsmen, who row in unison to the fast rhythm of the Vanchipattu or the song of the boatman.

References

Indian awards Monuments and memorials to Indira Gandhi Boat races in India {{India-sport-stub