N E W S
It is a quirk of destiny that the idea for a Kerala Snake Boat ride was mooted in the House of Commons in U.K.
The story reads like this. In 2007, the annual Keraleeyam Fest was conducted on 16th and 17th November in London. The function was inaugurated at the House of Commons, British Parliament, and was attended by Mr. Douglas Alexander, the then Minister for Overseas Affairs British Parliament and Mr. Keith Vas Member of Parliament. The luminaries who were present included Lord Swaraj Paul, Mr S.P. Hinduja Chairman Hinduja group of Companies, and Mr. Lakshmi Mittal, the steel magnate in U.K
The function was mainly to honour the dignitaries like Capt. C.P. Krishnan Nair (Chairman, Leela Group), Mr. P.N.C. Menon (Chairman, Sobha Group) and the well known Mr. P.Gopinath the master weaver who is the mastermind behind hundreds of handloom co-operatives run by women in Kerala. The idea of a traditional Kerala snake boat race was sown there in the casual dialogues among the dignitaries.
The exchanges over phone and email went on for two more years as this was a Herculean task. After detailed discussions, River Thames was selected as the venue and the time was selected to coincide with the coveted London Olympics 2012 and the occasion was the inauguration of Canoeing and Kayaking event in the White Water Canoe Centre in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire. Though it was five years afar at that time there was nothing so important as the Olympics in the world to hold a demo snake boat race.
A meeting was held in London on 20th October 2009, which was attended by Mr. R. Ajith Kumar (Vice President-Keraleeyam), Mr. Sarosh .P. Abraham (Treasurer- Keraleeyam) and Mr. N.R. Harikumar (Secretary General-Keraleeyam). It was decided to go ahead with full support from UK side.
In November signs of the realization were clear as Mr. Keith Vaz MP after due consultation with, Mr. Alex Brown (Mayor, Upper Thames) and Mr. Sebastian Coe (Chairman, Olympic Committee, London Olympics 2012) informed us to go for a demo snake boat race prior to the London Olympics 2012.
In the mean time consultations were progressing with the ministers and officials of the Govt. of Kerala which by this time has become the benefactor of this event. On 10th November, Keraleeyam informed Mr. Elamarom Kareem (Hon. Minister for Industries, Govt. of Kerala) about conducting the demo snake boat race in July 2010.
Mr. Elamaram Karim, anticipating the potential of this event, by now has become a facilitator on behalf of the Govt. of Kerala. On 23rd November 2009 he convened a meeting in his chamber under his chairmanship to discuss the modalities of the event. The meeting was attended by representatives from Keraleeyam, various ministries, Dept of Tourism etc.
The meeting discussed the various formalities to be observed and it was suggested that Keraleeyam should obtain permission from Port of London Authority for conducting the race.
Further to the communications between Kerala and London, Mr. Elamarom Karim paid a personal visit to London where he met Mr. Keith Vaz MP and conveyed him the intentions of the Govt. of Kerala and the people of Kerala.
After this, everything went at a tremendous pace that on 3rd March 2010 Port of London Authority informed Keraleeyam that permission has been granted to conduct the demo snake boat race on 9th June 2010 at Thames River. They also informed that full consent is dependent on proof of civil liability insurance to the value of 5 Million Pounds.
In the discussions that followed it was finally decided to conduct a demo snake boat rowing on 9th June 2010 to provide a hype to the 2012 event and to familiarize the snake boats with the authorities and the public at large. Later this was postponed to 8th Oct. 2010.
From the Kerala side, identification of the boat and selection of rovers is expected to be finished soon. The District Collector, Alappuzha will be in charge of this and the rovers of team who have won the last Nehru Trophy will be considered at London.
The boat will be shipped to London. The oars men will fly to the city. Apart from this, a delegation of Keraleeyam including VIPs will travel to London in October.
Total budget estimates for the programme is expected to be Rs Seven crores including rentals, transportation and other expenses. Keraleeyam will look after the promotion and publicity efforts in Kerala and the London chapter of the organization will coordinate these activities outside India.
The project initiated by Keraleeyam is expected to be facilitated by the Governments of Kerala and India. The departments of Tourism, Youth Affairs, Co-operation and Industries of both the governments are expected to make mileage out of this event using the Indian diaspora in UK. Kerleeyam expects the expenses to be shared by these departments. Keraleeyam with its infrastructure and support system in London will be the nodal agency to implement the project.
The event on 8th Oct is a precursor to the actual event which is being planned as a part of the inaugural function of the London Olympics 2012. This event will be conducted in association with the organizing committee of the Olympics.
Keraleeyam also plans to donate the snake boat to the Government of UK and Her Majesty, the Queen of Elizabeth.