Payippad Vallaarattu, or Jalotsavam, is a three-day water festival conducted in

Payippad Lake Payippad is a village in Alappuzha district in the state of Kerala, India. The village is situated about 10 km east of Harippad (the nearest town) on the Harippad, Veeyapuram road. Payippad is better known for the Payippadu Vallam Kali, Pay ...

, 6 km from

Haripad Haripad is a Municipality in ''Onattukara'' region of Alappuzha District, Kerala, India located between Alappuzha and Kollam on the National Highway 66. Haripad is bordered on the east by Pallippad, Veeyapuram and Karuvatta to the north ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

state in south

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. There is a close relation between this ''Payippadu Vallam Kali'' and Haripad Sree Subrahmanya Swamy temple.

Winners

*1967-Pacha Chundan, Payippad Boat Club *1968-Pacha Chundan, Payippad Boat Club *1969-no race was conducted -Other race details are not available - *2004-Payippadan Chundan, Payippad Boat Club *2005-Karichal Chundan, Karichal Boat Club *2006-Karichal Chundan, Karichal Boat Club *2007-Karichal Chundan, Karichal Boat Club *2008-Karichal Chundan, Karichal Boat Club *2009-Payippadan Chundan, Payippad Boat Club *2010- no winners *2011-Karichal Chundan, Karichal Boat Club *2012-Anary Chundan, Anary Boat Club *2013-Anary Chundan, Anary Boat Club *2014-Karichal Chundan, Karichal Boat Club *2015-Payippadan Chundan, Payippad Boat Club *2016-Not decided *2017-Payippadan Chundan, Payippad Boat Club *2018-cancelled due to flood *2019-Payippadan Chundan, Payippad Boat Club *2020-cancelled due to COVID-19 *2021-cancelled due to COVID-19 *2022 - Veeyapuram Chundan - Veeyapuram Boat club

The legend

The people of the Haripad village decided to build a

Sree Ayyappan Ayyappan an incarnation of dharma sastha, also called Manikandan, is a Hindu deity popular in Southern India, He is considered to be the epitome of dharma, truth, and righteousness and is often called upon to obliterate evil. Although devotion t ...

temple in accordance with a vision that they should install the idol of

Subrahmanya Kartikeya ( sa, कार्त्तिकेय, Kārttikeya), also known as Skanda, Subrahmanya, Shanmukha (), and Murugan ( ta, முருகன்), is the Hindu god of war. He is the son of Parvati and Shiva, the brother of Ganesha ...

, which they would find in the

Kayamkulam River Kayamkulam is a town and municipality in the ''Onattukara'' region of Alappuzha district in Kerala. It is the second biggest town in Alappuzha district. It is located on the western coast of India, and was an ancient maritime trading center. O ...

under a whirlpool. Finding the idol, the people brought back

vigraha In the Hindu tradition, a ''murti'' ( sa, मूर्ति, mūrti, ) is a devotional image such as a statue, or "idol" (a common and non-pejorative term in Indian English), of a deity or saint. In Hindu temples, it is a symbolic icon. Thus ...

in a boat, escorted by the devotees in other boats ceremoniously. In remembrance of this event a three-day water festival is conducted each year. The oldest temple was about 5000 years old. There was a "Skandakumara" idol was installed in the temple. So the place name became Kumara Puram. Even now some areas of Haripad is called Kumarapuram. At that time the temple was under control of some famous Ooranma families, those are Chengarappally, Thazhoor, Kizhikulam and 20 other Karanma families. These families decided to construct a new big temple. The 'Sreekovil' was constructed by Ambakkaattu Family of Karichal Village. At that time elder members of the Ooranma families saw a dream in same night. The dream was an idol of Subrahmanya with 4 hands (Chathurbahu) is lying in Govindamuttom Lake (Kayamkulam). People of these families rushed to the place in a boat (Palliyodam) to find out the idol. They found a whirlpool in the lake. Now the place is called Kandalloor (Kanda Nalla Ooru). After finding the idol (Vigrha), the people taken it to Nelppurakkadavu near Harippad in a boat, escorted by many boats (Palliyodam) rowed by the villages. In remembrance of this event a three-day water festival is conducted each year. Payipad boat race is one of the oldest boat race in Kerala, to get an idea of that period adding some information of the rulers of that time. The golden period of the temple and the village was King Ravi Adithyan (Ravi kelan-2) period. At the time of King Marthanda Varma (in 1734), he added Kayamkulam and Chempakasseri to Travancore. This period Haripad temple's control also came under Travancore king. Updated by Gopakumar-Karichal..Book Ref:Harigeethapureshan) Boat races in Kerala Festivals in Alappuzha district Hindu festivals in Kerala {{reli-festival-stub