Nehru Trophy Snake Boat Race

Punnamada Lake near Alleppey is host to the spectacular snake boat races that are annually held on the second Saturday of August. This competition is named after India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru. The story goes that when Nehru say his first boat race, he got so into the competition that he jumped right into the boat that won the race, so the event became named the Nehru Trophy Snake Boat Race. Each and every 50 meter long wooden snake boat that is in the race is manned by over a hundred oarsmen. Such man power allows these boats to travel at remarkable speeds. The event traditionally commemorates the carrying of idols to their abodes in the state's magnificent temples. The trophy is a silver snake boat mounted on a wooden pedestal.