Nehru Trophy Boat Race

Come 11th of August, 2007 and the tranquil lake of Punnamda near Alappuzha will convert into one of the most exciting places in Kerala. The reason behind it is the Nehru Trophy Boat Race. For those who are not really aware of the NTBR, let me start off by giving a brief introduction. Boat races are quiet popular in the south India state of Kerala. Infact, they are one of the major attractions for foreign tourists. NTBR is the most popular of all these races and is organised on every second Saturday of August. People, in lakhs come to witness the competitive exuberance of this boat race.

The boat race was first held in 1952 to honour the first Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, who was on a trip to the region. Watching the race, Pandit Nehru got so involved and excited that he broke all security barriers and embarked a boat to take a ride on it. Later, in the same year, he presented a a silver trophy for the winner of the race. The trophy bore an inscription which said, “To the winners of the boat race which is a unique feature of community life in Travancore Cochin." Since then, the boat race has become one of the most elaborate events in Kerala every year.

In 2006, the event was organised on 13th of August and saw participation from around 60 boats including 18 snake boats. The event also saw the participation of UAE based 10 women who joined a group of 23 Indian women. This was the first ever international participation in the women category. The race was won by the Payippad Snake Boat from Kumarakom in Kottayam. This boat has not only been a regular participant of the event for decades but is also the winner of the coveted trophy for three consecutive year. For those who have already made arrangements to see the event this year, this boat is a definite watch out one. However, it will also be interesting to see if another boat can break the winning streak of the Payippad Snake Boat.

The image you are seeing above was used as alogo of 2006 NTBR. The logo of the event is selected by the Nehru Boat Race committee from amongst the entries received from the general public. The logo name was Thakkudu. The name itself was selected from amongst thousands of entries received from children belonging to class 1- 7. Both the winner of the person whose logo and the child whose suggested name is selected is given a cash prize. In 2005, the state bird of Kerala, VEZHAMBAL was he logo of the NTBR.

The NTBR is not the only boat race that is organised in the month of August. There are two other boat races taking place in this month. The Aranmula Boat Race is scheduled to be held on 30th of August while Payippad Boat Race is going to be held just a day before, on 29th of Aug. So anyone wishing to be a part of the Nehru Boat Race is definitely going to benefit watching two other exciting and pulseracing competition.

To know more about the boat races of Kerala, click here

Hemis Festival

Every year, in June-July, the Ladakh region of Jammu Kashmir gears up for the grandest event of the area, the Hemis festival. Hemis Monastery, the venue of the festival, is the wealthiest Buddhist monastery in India. No wonder, then, that the annual festival of Hemis is not just a local affair. Rather, it is an event that attracts thousands of Buddhists from all over the world. History also has records of the 1st Prime Minister of independent India, Jawahar Lal Nehru, participating in the event in 1949.

The festival marks the birth of Guru Padmasambhava, the founder of tantric Buddhism in Tibet. Masked dances are the highlights of this festival. These dances, for which the participants prepare in advance, depict the victory of good over evil. It is believed that Guru Padmasambhava battled with evil forces to ensure the safety of the local people. The masks themselves are works of art and represent guardian divinities of the Drukpa order to which the Hemis Monastery belongs. Apart from the masked dances, what attracts the attention of visitors is the fair which sees Ladakhis coming out in best of their colourful dresses. The fair offers excellent opportunities for shoppers to pick up some handicraft items of the area. A two storey Thangka displayed once in every 12 years is yet another highlight of the festival. The entire festival is presided over by the Rimpoche, the head Lama of the Hemis Monastery.





Foreign tourists coming from abroad to attend the Hemis festival are mostly Germans, Britons, Americans, French, Swiss, Italians and Israelites. Asian tourists from Korea, Japan, Thailand, Tibet, Singapore and SriLanka follow. This inflow of foreign tourists gives a big boost to tourism in the region. Tour operators come out with packages that take take tourists to the Hemis festival. Infact, this year, the Himachal Pradesh tourism department has also rolled out a special Manali-Leh (Manali being one of the base to reach Leh, the capital of Ladakh. The other base is Srinagar) journey package. This package covers over 400 km of Lahaul-Ladakh Cold Desert and offers tourists a chance to savour the stupendous beauty of the route.


Participating in Hemis festival is like giving oneself an opportunity to understand the local culture of the Buddhist people. It is truly not to be missed for those interested in cultural tourism in India.

Know more about hemis Festival here