It was in 1952 India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, during a visit to Alappuzha, hopped on Nadubhagam Chundan (snakeboat) after witnessing a snakeboat race.
Rest is history. On his return to New Delhi, Nehru donated a silver trophy, a replica of a snakeboat and paved way for the renowned Nehru Trophy Boat Race.
As time passed, the legendary snakeboat ceased competing in races and Nadubhagam Boat Club (NBC) retired in 2013. They replaced it with a brand new chundan with the same name. Since its retirement, the chundan has been kept in a crumbled shed, leaving a piece of history to decay. But not any more.
Although the Tourism Department's promise to set up a museum and shift the chundan there remains unfulfilled, the NBC, Nadubhagam Chundan Fans Club (NCFC) and local residents have now joined hands to preserve it. As part of protecting it, the chundan will be reconditioned under the guidance of craftsman Sabu Narayanan Achary, who built the new chundan a few years ago.
A new 'vallapura' (boathouse) will also be constructed at Nadubhagam.
The project is expected to cost an estimated ₹10 lakh. While the NCFC members will bear a major share of the cost, the rest will be raised from the public. "The chundan has great historical significance. We waited for the government to preserve it, but it did not happen. We have taken ourselves the task of conserving it. With the active support of the public, we hope to complete the work in six months," said K.S. George, president, NBC.
The story of Nadubhagam Chundan dates back to the 1920s. In 1927, the people of Nadubhagam decided to compete in their own boat in the race at Champakulam. They bought a ‘palliyodam’ from Vembala in Aranmula.
Later, the villagers transformed it into a chundan. During Nehru’s visit, the chundan ferried him, his daughter Indira Gandhi and grandson Rajiv Gandhi to the Alappuzha boat jetty from Meenappally Kayal, following an exhibition race, in which it came first.
Since then, the boat race has been held every year. The trophy was initially named Prime Minister’s trophy but later came to be known as Nehru trophy. In 2019, Nadubhagam Chundan (new snakeboat), rowed by the Pallathuruthy Boat Club, repeated history by lifting the Nehru trophy for the first time since 1952.
