Melpadom Chundan | Women at the Forefront of Boat Building

Melpadom is a village in Alappuzha district’s Veeyapuram Panchayat. Renowned for its passion for snake boat race, almost every village in this panchayat owns a snake boat. And Melpadom is one among those.

The dream to build a snake boat was amply supported by residents and the NRIs from Melpadom. The village broke traditional beliefs by including women in the snake boat associations. A significant number of women are stakeholders and three women were inducted into the patrons' association.

Works began on July 14, 2023 and the Melpadom Chundan was completed within 9 months. The boat was officially launched on July 25, 2024. Kumarakom Boat Club team was the first to row the Melpadom Chundan. The snake boat is 128 feet long, 64 inches wide and can hold 85 paddlers, 5 steersmen and 7 singers.

Other Snake Boats

Cheruthana Chundan

Cheruthana is a small village in Alappuzha district, surrounded by the Pamba and Achankovil rivers. According to local history, the snake boat was introduced here in the 1800s.The Cheruthana Chundan started participating in competitive races in the 70's. This boat won several major races and was active until 1981. Despite its active and strong presence in the snake boat race arena, this boat couldn't win the Nehru Trophy.The new Cheruthana Chundan was launched in 1982 and it was renowned for its aesthetic beauty among chundan fans. The boat has won at Payippad, Mannar and Karuvatta several times over the years. In 2004, the skilled rowers of Kumarakom Town Boat Club earned the boat its first Nehru Trophy win. The Cheruthana Boat Club repeated the feat several times over in later years.

See details

St. Pius X Chundan

If St George Chundan is called the 'Saint', St Pius X Chundan is known as 'The Saint & Team' by the people of Kuttanad. The snake boat was built by the members of the Kerala Catholic Youth Movement (KCYM) unit at St Pius X church in Mankombu, Alappuzha.After tasting back-to-back victories in the veppu vallam (a smaller traditional boat that was used to carry food for soldiers travelling on snake boat) races at the Nehru Trophy from 2009 to 2013, motivated the team to enter the snake boat race.After failing to procure a snake boat for a race, the club members decided to build one of their own. The new St Pius X Mankombu Chundan was launched on July 18, 2014.The snake boat is 123-feet long and five feet wide. It can hold 87 paddlers, 5 steersmen and 7 choristers. St Pius X reached the Nehru Trophy finals in 2015 and won in the losers’ final clash in 2016.

See details

Anari Puthen Chundan

The Anari village in Alappuzha district is a legacy participant of the famed Payippad Jalolsavam (water fest) from the time of the event’s inception. The villagers entered the snake boat race with a refurbished palliyodam (a large snake boat) bought from Aranmula in 1954. The Anari Chundan is co-owned by the farmers, middle income families and NRIs hailing from this hamlet in Cheruthana Panchayat. The villagers replaced the old boat in 1986, but it didn't win any significant titles.The villagers sold the old boat and commissioned the construction of a new one. The new Anari Chundan emerged victorious in major races like Payippad, Kallada, Piravom, Thazhathangadi, Karuvatta, Kannetty, Pallana and the President's Trophy. Though the boat made it into the Nehru Trophy finals four times, victory eluded it.Anari residents refurbished the new chundan and relaunched it in 2021, after a decade of its debut. The boat is still in pursuit of the Nehru Trophy championship.

See details

Veeyapuram Chundan

Veeyapuram Panchayat in Alappuzha district is known as the Capital of chundan vallams (snake boats). There are more than five snake boats in this panchayat, including the Veeyapuram Chundan, which was launched in 2019. The boat is co-owned by Veeyapuram south and north villages along with the residents of Puthanthuruth and Venkidachira. The NRI organisation named Nanma also supported the efforts to build the Veeyapuram Chundan.At 121-feet, Veeyapuram Chundan is comparatively shorter than other snake boats in the racing circuit. It can hold 83 paddlers, 5 steersmen and 7 choristers.In their inaugural year, Veeyapuram Chundan won the third Champions Boat League. They finished second in the Nehru Trophy finals, just a fraction of a second behind Champakulam Chundan.

See details

See all