A Nehru Trophy Boat Race set to make a splash in the United Arab Emirates

Aarppooo… Irrooo… the oarsmen sing as their colourful boats race through the deep blue waters in rhythm.

Bordering the lake is a long row of mangroves, adding a verdant splash to the spectacle. This beauteous scene isn’t from the backwaters of bucolic Kerala, but thousands of miles away in the Middle East.

In a month, the Corniche creek of Ras Al Khaimah in United Arab Emirates (UAE) will host the Nehru Trophy Boat Race’s Middle East version, lining up rowers consisting of Malayalis, Europeans, Arabs and Filipinos. Named the

Nehru Trophy Boat Race

Ras Al Khaimah, it is organised by the

RAK International Marine Sports Club

, in association with the Kerala government. The trophy given away to the winners will be the same as Kerala’s Nehru Trophy Boat Race.

Chief coordinator of the event Riyas Kattil says that the programme will have seven teams representing each of the Emirates or ‘karas’. “The boats here are also named after the original legends in Alappuzha, such as Payippadu, Champakulam, Karichal, Sree Ganesh and so on. We will be modifying fibre and dragon boats, to give them a snake boat look. The number of boatmen in one vessel is also just about 22, far fewer than the hundred on snake boats,” he says.

Businessman Nasar Mustafa, who is training for the competition with his team, says, “I used to row boats in Kerala and often enjoy events like Thazhathangadi Boat Race. But, most of us here are new to the sport. We have been training for the past 13 days. There is a lot of excitement and while practising, we spice things up singing Malayalam boat songs. My team, which rows the Payippadan Boat, consists mostly of Malayalis, but other teams have rowers from many countries.” Interestingly, they also take cues watching boat races on social media, to stylise their rowing.

Haripad native Azad Aliyar Rajan, who is part of yet another team, had participated in the Nehru Trophy Boat race many years ago. He says that just like the participants of Kerala boat races, the Middle East rowers are also following a strict diet and training regimen despite their busy professional lives. However, he denotes a few differences too. “The dragon boats used here are faster and lighter. We too chant Thithithara Thithithai during practice and even think of translating it into Arabic to bank on the mood on the day of the race,” he says, laughing.

The active participation of women and rowers from various other countries also set the Middle East race apart. Francis Morales, who hails from Philippines, is one of the trainers of the event and his wife Vanessa is also a participant. Francis says, “I have taken part in dragon boat races in my country many years ago. I love watching snake boat race videos and would love to come to Kerala and see it for myself in the future. At the moment, the atmosphere here is quite exciting and energetic, with chants and synchronised rowing.”

Riyas adds that the organisers have plans to bring snake boats for the event from next year onwards. “The event this year is mostly a trial. If all goes well, we want to expand its scale, train more people and also conduct the event on smaller, modern snake boats, from the upcoming year,” he explains.